


Stumble

by writer168



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Multi, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-06 01:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 72
Words: 285,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5397653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer168/pseuds/writer168
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura wanted to die. </p>
<p>Sasori was fine with staying dead.</p>
<p>But it seemed fate had other plans for them, because when they both wake up younger with blood pulsing through their veins, they had to remember how to live again.</p>
<p>Time Travel AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out of the Void

Sakura opened her eyes to a sky of silver and blue.

"Oh? To think you'd last a little longer," a lofty voice mused. Sakura sat up with a wince, rubbing the back of her head and glancing at her surroundings. At last, her eyes landed to the owner of the greeting. Her eyebrows furrowed immediately as she slowly pieced together what exactly happened to her.

_ " _ **_SAKURA-CHAN!!!_ ** _ " _

_ "Sa... Sakura? No-- I didn't-- NO! Sakura! Wake up-- I'm sorry! I didn't mean-- I..." _

She expected to have a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach when realization finally hit. Instead, it felt as if the weight of her burdens had been carried off her shoulders, leaving her feeling like she completed a mission and there was nothing more for her to do. A sigh escaped her lips before a small grin made its way onto her face.

"Hearing that from you is such an honor," she drawled. "Where exactly are we, Sasori-san?"

He chuckled from his spot beside her and motioned to the hues of color that flowed freely around them. "This is the Void. People come here when they aren't allowed to pass on." he said. Sakura gave him an odd look.

"So, Purgatory?"

"Not quite. Purgatory is where people go to atone for their sins before going to Heaven. The Void is neither one of the two. I'd say it's the same level as Purgatory, but we don't go anywhere. This is our final destination, but don't take my word for it, it's more of a theory than fact," he continued. She drew her legs to her chest and set her chin on her knees.

"I'll believe it. You must've had a lot of time to think, after all."

It was silent for a little while.

"... How old are you?" Sasori asked.

"Twenty-three."

He turned his head away from her and winced. He really was expecting her to live for much longer than a mere eight years after his demise. She had a lot of promise when they first met. Haruno Sakura was an exceptionally strong kunoichi with so much potential that in his dying seconds he knew that one day, she'd turn out like Tsunade.

Apparently not.

"It was the Fourth Shinobi World War. Seven years, it raged on. People were dying, villages were being destroyed, and no one had any hope," she began. Her eyes became incredibly distant. "Many of my friends had already died. Neji, Ino, Chouji, Lee... I was the leading medic on the battlefield. So many bodies and injured piled into the tents that we kept expanding the camp every week. That is, until, the camp was bombed. I was the only survivor."

Being in the Void for years gave Sasori too much time to think. In doing so, it gave him the opportunity to think about every single decision he ever made and every single thing he ever did. When three Earth years passed, he became aware of all his mistakes in his time: not forgiving his grandmother, killing Komushi,  _ turning himself into a puppet _ , _ creating other human puppets _ ... There were many more, but those four, at the very least, were the absolute worst things he did to himself.

Sakura continued with her story. "And that happened only the second year of the war. I did the very best that I could, but in the fifth year, I gave up all hope of the war ever ending, but I still did my job. The smell of corpses became a 24/7 deal and people dying... I just couldn't find the heart for them anymore. In the seventh year, things were looking unbelievably bright. I sought out Naruto for the first time in two years and found him fighting Sasuke to the death. Naruto was the future of Konoha-- I wasn't about to let him die. So I jumped in between them."

She tapped her chest then her stomach.

"A rasengan to the stomach and a chidori to the heart."

Sasori could already see the horror on their faces after they realized they hurt-- no,  _ murdered _ \-- their teammate in one of the most terrible ways possible. He glanced at the person that would most likely be his only companion in this endless oblivion. Maybe this all wasn't a bad thing. He had a grudge against her previously, but he figured long ago that the grudge was hopeless. Shinobi were tools to carry out missions, and he had to admit, his death wasn't completely her fault.

"Sasori-san?"

He looked at her.

"Being here for as long as you have, has wanting to change the past ever crossed your mind?" she questioned. Sasori shrugged.

"I would if I could, but what shinobi deserves a second chance?"

" **_The ones who are able to make a change_ ** ."

Their heads shot up at the unfamiliar voice, eyes scanning the endless space around them. Yet there was no one. A puff of smoke appeared in front of them and revealed two identical dog tag necklaces with the kanji for time and a turquoise scroll. Sasori and Sakura exchanged looks. The voice returned.

" **_Take the necklaces, then put them on. Read the scroll that will return the life withdrawn. But be warned, the road will have changed. Take back what had already been rearranged. Fix what has been broken in the past. And create a future that is sure to last_ ** ."

Sasori picked up the necklaces, giving one to Sakura, and unsealed the scroll. Inside were two sentences. Suddenly, their voices rang in unison that neither had control over.

"Kill me once, but don't fail me twice. Take away my death and return my life."

And Void was empty once more.   
  


::

Edited 1/27/18

BETA: OfCloves on Wattpad


	2. 5;20

Sasori cracked open his eyes and looked around. The room he was in was cluttered with wooden body parts and blueprints. He turned his gaze down at his hands that he opened and closed a few times. No puppet joints. He eased out of his bed and observed the room a little longer. A glass container sat on his desk and a wooden husk of himself was strung up in the corner of the room. Nostalgia overflowed in his veins as he reached up to the sanded cheek of the puppet. That life had passed.

He picked up a discarded storage scroll on his desk and sealed his puppet form inside.

He wasn't about to dive into it a second time. He left the confines of his quarters and walked throughout the base, identifying all the members. No Itachi. No Deidara. No Hidan. Sasori paused mid-step when he realized the predicament he was in.

 _'I'm in the past like the poem said... Far in the past. But if the world is as follows, how has the road changed?'_  he thought. Orochimaru spotted him from down the hallway and raised a hand in greeting.

"What are you dawdling for? We have to get information on Kisame-kun's possible new partner," he said.

"Uchiha Itachi?" Sasori asked. It was true that they'd gather information on new members far in advance, but wasn't it kind of early?

Orochimaru blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Those toxic fumes haven't gotten to your head, have they? Leader-sama just briefed us ten minutes ago. We're looking for Iwa no Deidara, a growing expert in explosives," he explained. Sasori's brow furrowed in confusion. No, that wasn't right. Deidara was his partner after Orochimaru defected. Hell, it was Itachi who fought and decided the brat's fate.

"What about Uchiha Itachi? Wasn't he discussed?"

"We discussed about him two weeks ago, don't you remember? But there's absolutely no way he could go rogue. He's pacifistic and the Uchiha Clan is nothing but good to the village. Honestly," sighed Orochimaru. "where has your mind gone? Maybe you should go out for some fresh air more often."

He turned and waved his hand forward.

"Now come on, we're about to leave."

That's when Sasori realized another thing. Orochimaru was different—a little more talkative, laid back, and a little less creepy if it were even possible.

"Get over here, dollboy!" Kisame called. "I thought you hate to keep people waiting!"

He snapped out of his thoughts and walked down the hallway, meeting with Kisame and Orochimaru in the forest.

"How much longer until we bring Deidara into the organization?" he questioned. Orochimaru gave him a slightly exasperated glance.

"Wow, you really didn't listen in the meeting, did you? We're waiting six years for him."

"Six...? Why so long?"

"Well," Kisame added, "it's because the kid's only eight years old."

Sasori's eyes widened.  _'If Deidara is only eight... Hold on. How old does that make Sakura?!'_

::

She looked at herself in the mirror at the ungodly hour of four in the morning. The skies outside were still dark and the rest of the village had yet to stir. Sakura's hair was short and messy and everything about her just seemed... small. Her room was pink and fluffy with stuffed animals on her bed and strewn across the floor.

"I'm five years old," she whispered to herself. "It worked, but I'm far too young..."

Her initial instinct would've been to run around her room giddily, tears in her eyes as she thanked the gods for the opportunity to fix the future and to be alive again. She should've been so overfilled with joy and so happy with her current situation that it was all unreal. But she wasn't. She felt... neutral. Not happy, not sad. Just there.

Empty with remnants of fire in her soul.

_"Fifty-two deaths this week," Shizune informed. "Forty-eight of them unidentified."_

_"Burn the forty-eight."_

_"What?! Sakur--"_

_"We don't have time to bury them, Shizune-senpai," Sakura added on monotonously. "People are being rushed in every day. We have to focus on the ones that are still alive and that still have a chance, not the ones that are already gone."_

_Shizune stared at her, frozen and wide-eyed. When she made no move to carry out the order, Sakura sighed and rolled up her sleeves._

_"Nevermind, then," she said as she walked towards the tent's exit. "I'll burn them myself."_

There was no such thing as a good war, Sakura learned very, very soon in her deployment as head medic. She was on the good side-- or what she believed to be the good side-- but every passing minute hit her like a chakra-laced punch. Every passing minute, the war stripped her of her naivety. Her hope. Her beliefs. Her joy.

War scarred her for seven whole years.

Not only the war, but also the...

Sakura quickly shook her head and withdrew into herself, running her fingers along her neck and finding no horrid scar.

There was absolutely no way she could get back all that she'd lost no matter how long she'd be in this kind world. With a sigh, she turned off her lights and crawled back into bed. But she was five years old. She could take some time to herself and recover.

That early morning was the first time she'd been in a real bed for seven years.

She woke up a mere four hours later feeling groggy but fully rested, oddly enough. Her parents would be preparing for work at this hour. Even though her parents were both genin, they had easily taken up civilian jobs, her mother a civilian school teacher and her father a chef. So Sakura sat up in her bed and thought for a bit.

The first thing she had to do, undoubtedly, was find Sasori. She needed to make sure he still remembered everything that happened and talk to him about the things that they needed to change. Secondly, she needed to scope out Konoha. Re-familiarize herself with her surroundings. Third, she needed to know what was different. Whoever it was in the void said that "the road will have changed". What could have possibly changed?

Sakura laid back down in bed and feigned sleep when she detected her parents' chakra making their way to her room. The door creaked open and her parents padded in quietly.

"Sakura-chan, Mama and Papa are going to work," Mebuki cooed.

Sakura rolled over and rubbed at her eyes. "Mmkay..."

"Akiyama-san from next door is going to check in on you from time to time, like always," Kizashi added. "Be a good girl, okay?"

She nodded. They each placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving her room and shutting the door silently behind them. When Sakura was sure the two had left the apartment, she slipped out of her bed to get changed. Her closet options didn't amount to much, and she settled with a red shirt and green shorts, something similar to what she'd wear in the Academy.

After creating a clone to appease Akiyama-san, she opened her window and hopped out.

::

Sasori stared at the world map with a sigh. He supposed that Iwa was a fair distance away from Konoha. It was far, but certainly not the farthest. At most it would take a week to travel there? That was alright. He could send a summons until he was able to go and visit Sakura himself. Light chirping brought him out of his planning, making him stare up at the trees.

Ah, it's been awhile since he'd seen a bird.

"Are... Are you okay?" Kisame asked him warily. Sasori had been spacing out for the past ten minutes and it almost looked like he was admiring nature. The aforementioned looked at him.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Kisame and Orochimaru shared a glance.

"It's nothing," Orochimaru answered. "As I was saying... We'll wait until nightfall until we infiltrate the village. And that's, I'd say, about four hours from now."

The two of them waited for some irritated comment about how they shouldn't be wasting their time, but Sasori was back to staring around and above him, occasionally touching the trees or the grass. When he looked back up, a small smile was on his face.

"Nature's nice."

Kisame choked on his spit.

::

Uchiha Mikoto was walking down the street with books in her arms. The matriarch insisted that she could be out and about the village on her own without her sons or someone to accompany her. She was only going to the library to borrow some books for Itachi and Sasuke to enjoy. But perhaps she shouldn't have denied that help. The books were stacked so high that she could barely see over them, much less keep them balanced as she walked. She was doing a pretty good job for herself until someone carelessly bumped into her.

The books went flying, but before Mikoto could snatch them all back, another did. Small hands shot out with incredible speed to catch some of the books while a foot caught the remaining one. Mikoto's eyes zeroed in on a young girl who miraculously managed to balance the books on her hands, head, and foot.

"You dropped these, oba-san?"

"Oh, thank you, dear!"

Mikoto hurried to grab all the books before grinning at the little girl gratefully. She looked about the same age as her Sasuke.

"That was quite an impressive catch. Are you in the Academy?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not yet. I'm not old enough. Kaa-san says I'll be able to join next year, though," she replied. She glanced ahead of her before offering a polite smile. "I'm going to head off. Be more careful, oba-san. Take care."

She waved at the older woman before continuing down the busy street. Mikoto curiously noted that the girl didn't make a single sound as she walked.

:: 

Edited: 1/27/18


	3. Just a Kid

It was actually two weeks later when Sasori managed to journey to Konoha. It was two a.m. when he arrived at her apartment where he found her knee deep in blank scrolls and ink. She greeted him with a wave as he settled beside her on her bed.

"Hello again, Sasori-san," she said, not looking up from what she was doing. "What took you so long to get here?"

"Orochimaru and Kisame were  _ convinced _ that I was under some sort of genjutsu or that I was a henge and kept watch over me for a whole week after I told them that I wasn't going to transfer into my puppet body after all. They looked rather... horrified... when I told them that I wasn't going to because there's more to life than trying to live forever."

He looked up to see Sakura pause her work and squint at him disbelievingly. "I don't know you that well, but I also think there's something wrong with what you just said."

Sasori chuckled lightly, making Sakura jerk to the side in alarm. If she were a lesser person, she would've assumed that he was under some sort of genjutsu or was a henge as well.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. I was only in the void for eight years, but time runs differently there. It might as well have been  _ eighty _ . With my thoughts and I alone for decades, I came to know the things I'd done wrong. For one, I wasn't living fully enough. I kept myself inside and with my puppets. But now that I have another chance, I'll do all the things I failed to do the first time," he said. Sakura considered his words for a moment before smirking softly and looking back down at her scrolls.

"It's amazing how much death can change a person, hm?"

Sasori peered at her work from over her shoulder and allowed himself to raise a brow in surprise. Seals were delicately painted on the paper, some even he couldn't recognize. Each line was drawn particularly and cautiously to leave no room for stray marks or mistakes. He was impressed. "So what is so important that it has to keep a little girl past her bedtime?" he questioned. She flashed him an irked glare before motioning towards her scroll.

"I'm practicing protection seals. Once I find Naruto, I’m placing these in his goggles and around his apartment. He's only five years old and I have to make sure he's completely safe." She waited for the ink to dry before rolling it up and placing it under her bed. She capped her ink and gathered up the other scrolls before tucking them under as well. She turned her body to face Sasori completely and crossed her legs in front of her. "What information have you gathered, Sasori-san?"

"The Akatsuki no longer desire to have Uchiha Itachi in our ranks. According to Orochimaru,  _ 'He's pacifistic and the Uchiha Clan is nothing but good to the village.' _ If that much is true, then the massacre shouldn't be a problem in the future," he informed. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she brought a hand up to massage her throbbing forehead.

"Thank God, Sasuke will be safe," she whispered. "I have nothing on my end. If I find anything, I'll send one of my summons. Probably Kou-chan, a Havana Brown cat. If you carry this tag around, he'll be able to locate you."

Sakura leaned over her bed and rummaged around her nightstand drawer before pulling out another seal covered slip of paper. He took it and studied it closely. "Cats? What happened with slugs?"

"At the moment, cats are more... efficient. They can hide in plain sight without the slightest suspicion. A lot of them are also tied in with the Uchiha, courtesy of their position with the clan's weapon supplier, Nekobaa. I can gather a lot of information from them if the cats understand the situation we're in. We can never be too careful," she explained. To Sasori, she suddenly looked older. Even with her small stature and obvious young age, he could still see war carved in her bones and the weariness swimming in her eyes. And… something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Fear? Apprehension?

"I see. Then here." He gave her an almost identical tag. "You'll be seeing a summons of mine, Yori-san. You aren't averse to scorpions, are you?" he teased. Sakura shook her head before rubbing at her temples some more. Sasori frowned before turning to look at her clock. 3:34 a.m. He had to get going. He stood up and stretched his limbs and cracked open her window.

"Sakura-san, you know that the war never happened here. Your friends are alive and the village is safe."

She sighed. "I know."

"You don't have to worry more than you should. You're a kid again. Shouldn't you enjoy it?"

She gazed at herself in the mirror across the room, taking in the bags under her eyes and the rigid guard in her form. For a moment, she saw her twenty-three year old self-- tired with no longer a sense of hope. Fire flashed in the background for a mere second to take her back to that godforsaken field and that cruel,  _ cruel  _ smile—

"... It's hard, Sasori-san."

"I know."

Later on at an appropriate time in the morning, Sakura went through her usual routine. She waited for her parents to leave, created a clone in her stead, and left stealthily through her window. These past two weeks had proven unfruitful. Konoha itself remained unchanged as every street and every store was in the same place it had always been. She saw a few of her former friends among the crowds, but other than that, she was really left with nothing.

She walked through a couple of playgrounds to see if her best friend was anywhere to be found. At the sixth one, she was starting to think that she should call it a day. But at the seventh, she only saw one boy in the area. He was alone on one of the swings with his head bowed down and his feet kicking up dust.

_ 'Naruto...' _

Sakura walked up in front of the swing set and smiled. "Hi, I'm Sakura. Do you need someone to push you?"

Naruto flinched and jerked his head up. His eyes narrowed distrustfully at the girl who oh-so bravely stepped up to him when no one else would. He looked back at the ground.

"S'okay. I just like sittin' by m'self," he mumbled. She took a seat on the swing next to him, the fond smile still on her face.

"Why?" she questioned. "I bet you'll be a lot happier if you had someone to play with."

"No one likes me and I don' have any friends. But that's fine 'cause I don' like 'em neither," he grumbled. Sakura remembered Naruto's hardships back in her time. The adults always looked at him in hate and blamed him for the attack on the village like he was the one who had done it, not the demon inside of him. All the other kids, despite their ages, avoided him like the plague. Sakura couldn't say that she wasn't one of them.

_ "Look, it's Naruto!" _

_ "Dead last!" _

_ "Get out of here, no one wants you here, freak!" _

_ "Yeah, freak!" _

_ "My tou-san says you’re a monster!" _

_ "My kaa-san says the same thing, so it has to be true!" _

_ "Monster! Monster! Monster!" _

_ "Freak!" _

She'd be damned if she was going to make that same mistake twice.

"Well, you look really nice. Can I be your friend?"

Naruto's head shot up and whipped to the side, blue eyes wide and mouth hung agape. His hands tightened around the swing's metal chains. "You... You're just messing with me, aren't you?!" he accused, jumping off the swing and pointing a finger at her angrily. "No one wants ta' be my friend, 'ttebayo! 'Specially not someone like  _ you _ !"

Sakura stood up as well, eyebrows drawn together. "Someone... like me?"

"Yeah, someone like you! Someone so nice and-and so pretty! You prob'ly got lotsa friends and you're jus' playin' a prank on me 'cause I'm  _ ME _ !"

He turned and ran out of the playground, leaving Sakura with her eyes glittering with shock and determination.

The following morning, Sakura didn't create a clone and leave out the window like she normally did. After her parents had gone, she spent most of her day in the kitchen fixing up two bentos. When Akiyama-san, the elderly lady from next door, came in to check on her, she regarded the girl with delighted curiosity.

"What's this? Making something for you and a friend, Sa-chan?"

Sakura bobbed her head before tilting her head to the side and making a quick decision. "I'm trying to get him to be my friend. He doesn't trust very easily, but I don't blame him. The people hate him and I just don't get it. I hear the things they say about him. What's so bad about Naruto? He's just a boy and he's always alone!"

Akiyama-san smiled. "Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?"

"I think that's his last name."

Sakura waited for an angry comment or a look of disgust, but was given a pat on the head and a slight chuckle.

"That boy deserves a good friend. Make sure you're back before your parents get home," she said. Sakura inwardly mused at Akiyama-san's gracious acceptance and for once in a long time, left the apartment the normal way. She went back to the playground she met Naruto at yesterday and saw him on that same swing.

"Ah, Naruto!" she called. He flinched and looked at her.

"You from yesterday! Whaddya' want?! To make fun of me some more?!" he growled. His eyes went to the two bento boxes in her hands and looked at them suspiciously.

"I was making lunch and I thought about you. I was wondering if you were hungry..."

The anger was wiped off his face in an instant. "You're... You're goin' really far for a joke, dattebayo," he murmured. Sakura shook her head and sat next to him just like the day before.

"It's not a joke. I really, really want to make friends with you," she said sincerely. She held out one of the bentos and a set of chopsticks, willing him to take it. When he did, all traces of mistrust were wiped off his face and he grinned the brilliant grin Sakura was so accustomed to.

"I'm real sorry for yellin' at you yesterday, Sakura-chan," he apologized as he popped a piece of tempura in his mouth. "It's just that I never had anyone been so nice ta' me before 'cept the old man. But one day, all the people are gonna respect me 'cause I'm gonna be Hokage, 'ttebayo!"

Sakura smiled wistfully. She didn't live long enough to see him become Hokage in the other world, but she was going to this time. Absolutely.

"Do your best, Naruto."

::

Sasori sat utterly confused in an Akatsuki meeting.

_ 'We're a mercenary group?' _

::

Edited: 1/27/18


	4. Interest

Sasori wasn't the type to get confused. Ever. But sitting in a meeting for two hours while Pein, no— _ Yahiko _ , talked about plans he had never even heard of before really could throw someone in a loop. Yahiko discussed about finances and the new jobs the organization would be receiving, but he said absolutely nothing concerning the bijuu. So once the meeting came to an end and the rest of the Akatsuki members filed out of the room, Sasori approached his leader.

"Pei-- _ Yahiko _ -sama, could I ask your opinion on something?"

Yahiko frowned while Konan curiously turned her attention to the conversation.

"... Go ahead."

"This is a purely hypothetical question, but if you ever had the option to capture all nine of the tailed beasts and use their power for your own desire and will, would you?" he asked. Yahiko stared at him for a long moment, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Have you gone mad?"

Sasori raised his hands in defense. "Like I said, hypothetical question. Would you do it?"

"Of course not," he answered immediately. "If that type of power fell into the wrong hands, do you know what kind of damage it would cause to the people? Terrible, horrible amounts. People who don't deserve it certainly shouldn't receive it."

"Ah, I see. Good day, then, P— _ Yahiko _ -sama," Sasori bid before leaving the room. Yahiko's brown eyes burned into his subordinate's back even after he had left the room. Konan walked up to her partner, an uncharacteristic worrisome twinge in her eyes.

"Do you think Sasori-san found out about  _ him _ ?"

"I wouldn't put it past him, but should've been highly improbable. No one could know who he is. For now... we'll watch him. He's been a curious case these last few weeks, anyways."

::

Sakura was standing in a weapon's shop with sweat and dirt matting every inch of her visible self. She had just finished subjecting herself to hours of push ups, crunches, punching and running up trees in Training Ground 44. She would've come to the weapon shop earlier in the day, but she spent the later portion of her training session wrestling an enormous centipede to the ground and tearing off its head.

Stupid bastard shouldn't have messed with her.

Now she was perusing the shelves of the weapon shop looking for a weapon that suited her fighting style. Aside from kunai and senbon, which she bought in bulk a week prior with the money she won in bar bets (in henge form, of course), she needed a special weapon she could utilize on the battlefield. Sakura never really found a weapon for herself in the other life due to the fact that she never had the time, but she was determined to find something doable this time.

Swords were out of the question. She never seemed to handle them well and tended to show her clumsiness when she handled them. She needed something that moved along with her body smoothly and efficiently. After all, she was more rounded for taijutsu than anything else. At the corner of the shop, Sakura found something she could work with. Retractable wrist blades. She took them off the shelf and brought them to the counter.

"Afternoon, little lady. You look a bit roughed up. Tough day?"

She smiled at him. "You could say that. How much for the blades, oji-san?"

"2,500 ryo. How are the senbon and kunai I sold you some time ago?"

"Great, actually. You really have good wares at this store."

Sakura pulled out her wallet from her pants pocket only to frown when she opened it. Crisp bills that added up to 2,000 stared back up at her. She almost sighed. Looks like she'd have to go back to those bars and hustle more of those—

"Here you go. 2,500."

A hand extended over Sakura's head with the right amount of money in its grip. Sakura quickly turned around, recognizing the long gone voice, and stared up at her savior. Shiranui Genma grinned down at her with that signature senbon hanging from his lips.

"You didn't need to do that. Seriously," she said. "I mean, I really appreciate it but 2,500 ryo is way too much to pay for a stranger!"

Genma waved her off. "Nah, it's no big deal," he said. He set down a pack of senbon on the counter for the cashier to ring up. Sakura's eyes widened.

"No, it  _ is _ a big deal! Look, I'll pay you back tom—"

"Not necessary, kid. Think of it as a gift from a generous benefactor." He winked at her, paid for his senbon, and walked out the door. Without a moment's haste, Sakura swiped her blades off the countertop, bid the shop-keep good day, and ran out of the door to catch up with Genma.

"Hold on a minute!"

He slowed his step and waited for her to catch up, musing at the fact that her feet made no sound as she ran. Sakura momentarily forgot that she was caked in filth and stared at him with dead set eyes.

"I don't like owing debts, Shinobi-san."

If he had any sort of surprise, he didn't show it. Quietly, he studied the grime that clung to her like a second skin and took the blades he bought for her in consideration.

"Tell you what. If I ever need a single favor,  _ just one _ , I'll let you know and we'll be even. Sound good?" Genma offered. He spit into his hand and held it out, a teasing grin on his face. To his utter amazement, she spit into her own hand without hesitation and tightly gripped his in a firm shake.

"Haruno Sakura. I'm entering the Academy next term," she introduced. Genma nodded, impressed.

"Shiranui Genma. I'm an ANBU turned Tokubetsu Jounin. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

As they went their separate ways, Sakura felt a small puff of air next to her ear and looked at her shoulder. A deathstalker scorpion perched on her, bobbing its tail up and down.

"Hello, Haruno-san. My name is Yori, one of Sasori-san's summons."

"Ah, a pleasure to finally meet you," she greeted. "Does Sasori-san have something for me?"

She held her open palm up to her shoulder and let the scorpion crawl on. Once he did, there was a wisp of smoke and a small sheet of rolled paper appeared in his pincers.

"Here."

Sakura read through it with unmasked surprise.

_ Pein is different. The chakra receivers that were embedded into his body before are no longer there and his rinnegan is absent. The Akatsuki also seem to have no desire to the bijuu, so the boy is safe. I apologize in advance for sporadic replies if you ever send me information. It seems I'm being watched for my "odd" behavior. _

_ Me? Odd? They must be joking. _

Sakura nearly rolled her eyes before setting the note aflame, letting the ash drift down to her feet. She looked at the scorpion who was waiting patiently. "I don't think I have anything to send to him right now. But if it isn't too much trouble, Yori-san, do you think I can extract some venom from your tail?"

::

Something about Haruno Sakura intrigued him the moment he first saw her. All Genma was planning to do was buy a pack of senbon and be on his merry way, but when he laid eyes on a little runt who looked like she fell into a river and crawled in the mud, he decided to stay just a bit longer. He watched as she inspected each weapon she came across with a critical and experienced eye. Strange.

When she picked out the retractable wrist blades, he mused over her choice. They weren't a popular weapon among the shinobi as they stuck on the user and was incapable of being thrown or manipulated to a great extent. 

"You could say that. How much for the blades, oji-san?"

"2,500 ryo. How are the senbon and kunai I sold you some time ago?"

"Great, actually. You really have good wares at this store."

There was something strange about the way she said that, especially the use of the word 'wares'. He supposed it would be normal if she was in one of the clans, but he couldn't recall any children with bright pink hair. A sense of generosity washed over him when he saw the girl peer into her wallet and frown, so he took out 2,500 out of his own wallet and paid for her weapon. He waved off any sort of concern she had over the money, paid for his own senbon, and walked out the door fully expecting her to follow. She did.

"Hold on a minute!"

When she caught up to him, her breathing wasn't labored. Actually, she didn't even look like she ran over to him with her breathing so calm and even. Her footsteps were silent as well, usually the mark of a seasoned shinobi. She looked up him with eyes far too old for someone as young as her.

"I don't like owing debts, Shinobi-san."

The steel in her voice was unmistakable. After observing her for a few seconds more, he gave her his offer before spitting into his hand and holding it out to her. Genma did this often with his friends and co-workers, but they had yet to spit into their own hands and shake back. But she did so without hesitation, much to his wonderment.

"Haruno Sakura. I'm entering the Academy next term," she introduced. 

Now he was  _ really _ interested. 

It wasn't until a week later when he actually needed a favor done. Aside from that, he wanted to test a theory. Genma had taken the time a few days before to look into the Haruno name. Haruno Kizashi and Haruno Mebuki had both advanced to genin status before dropping out of the shinobi lifestyle, practically making them civilian. Their backgrounds were nothing spectacular as they had stemmed from civilian families anyways.

He sought her out soon after with a couple of folders in his hands. He looked at all the possible places she could be at and eventually found her at a playground with the Uzumaki boy. She played with him in the sand and when Naruto wasn't looking, sent dirty glares at the children and adults that dared to look at her friend the wrong way. Genma held a fist to his mouth to keep in his amused laughter. 

What a cute kid.

She played with Naruto for a few minutes longer before they both stopped and turned towards the sound of a scuffle near the slides. A group of older kids were surrounding someone and taunting them mercilessly.

"Fatty! Fatty!" one mocked.

"Why're you crying, tubby? 'Cause your friend's not here?" another teased. Sakura got up to her feet angrily and stomped over, Naruto following not too far behind.

"Leave him alone, you jackasses," her voice shrilled, "or I'll make you pay!"

She pushed through the group of bullies and kneeled down in front of the sniffling boy. _ 'Akimichi.' _ Genma recognized,  _ 'And Chouza-sensei's son, if I'm not mistaken.'  _ Sakura put her hands on his shoulders, making him look up at her with his red-rimmed eyes..

"What's your name?" she questioned softly. He rubbed at his eyes.

"Ch-Chouji..." he whispered just barely enough for her to hear.

"Alright, Chouji. Give me just a minute, okay?"

Sakura stood back up and faced the bullies with irate eyes that could send a chill down anyone's spine. It did to Genma's. The presumed leader of the bullies gulped and stood toe to toe and leered down at her.

"You better leave him alone from now on," she spat. The bully shoved her, causing Naruto to growl as he helped Chouji to his feet.

"And what's a stupid little girl gonna do 'bout it?"

Genma really didn't know what he was expecting, but when she reeled her fist back and decked him clean onto the ground without breaking a sweat he nearly keeled over in laughter. Naruto stared at her with newfound respect, Chouji ceased his crying to gape at his savior, and the bullies picked up their friend before making a hasty retreat. Sakura huffed before turning back around and smiling.

"Are you okay, Chouji? They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?" she questioned. Chouji shook his head, eyes still wide from her display of strength. Her smile turned into a grin. "Good."

"Sakura-chan, you were _ so cool _ , dattebayo!" Naruto praised loudly. "I think ya' broke his nose and that made it better!"

Genma finally calmed down and wiped the tears from his eyes before walking towards the three kids while tapping the folders on his shoulder. "Well, well. Not bad, Sakura-chan," he greeted. Naruto and Chouji blinked up at him nervously and backed up a few steps. Sakura scoffed and crossed her arms.

"He's lucky that I didn't break his entire face, Shiranui-san," she said, making Genma bark out another laugh. "So you finally have that favor for me?"

He handed her the folders and his... ID authorization card? "I need you to go to the T&I building and deliver these documents for me."

::

Edited: 1/27/18

 


	5. Red

Sakura accepted the documents and the ID before looking at Genma's smiling face suspiciously. "You're sending a kid,  _who isn't even in the Academy yet, mind you,_  to the T&I building. Alone. You haven't been drinking recently, have you?"

He put his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "Me? Drinking? Don't wound me, Sakura-chan. I just thought that you could take it, is all. But if you can't, I can come up with another favor," he said as he extended his hand. Sakura batted his hand away halfheartedly and tucked the folders under her arm.

"I can deal with it," she sighed. "I just hope you know that you can get in trouble for this. You think Morino-san'll be amused when he sees little ol' me waltz into his office?"

"You know Morino-san?" he questioned incredulously.

"Never met him, but I have ears too, you know."

Not only was she a cute little kid, but she was weird too. He watched as she gazed at his ID card, turning it this way and that, almost as if she was  _checking_  if it was real. As she did so, Genma saw the look in her eyes. They looked exhausted and far away for a few moments. But that couldn't be, could it? It didn't add up.

_'She's a little girl, for god's sake!'_

Before she looked back up at him, something flashed in those dark green irises that Genma wouldn't have caught if he hadn't been keenly observing her.

"I'll have this delivered after I walk my friends home," she informed lightly while pocketing the card. At the mention of 'friends', Chouji's cheeks reddened as he looked down at his feet. "I'll give your ID back the next time we see each other?"

Genma nodded and raised a hand in goodbye before walking down the street. Sakura turned to Chouji with a bright grin.

"Sorry for all that. My name's Haruno Sakura by the way."

Naruto bounced up beside her, his thousand watt smile lighting up his face. "And I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hokage, dattebayo!!" he exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. Sakura lowered one of his arms so she could see. Chouji, still blushing, looked up at the two of them.

"I-I'm Akimichi Cho-Chouji... Nice to meet you N-Naruto, Sakura..."

::

Chouza was a little worried. Shikamaru was out with his father in the Nara Forests all day today, leaving his son alone. He knew what the other kids said about Chouji and how seriously the boy took those comments to heart, so he hoped that his son wasn't being tormented somewhere. Just when he was about to get up from his seat on the porch of the main house, he heard laughter from the entrance of the Akimichi Compound.

Chouza grinned when he saw Chouji flanked by a pink haired girl and Uzumaki Naruto. He knew the truth about Naruto, as all the clan heads did, and held nothing against the boy. In fact, he was quite glad that Chouji managed to befriend him.

"Sorry I'm late, tou-chan," the boy apologized sheepishly. "Naruto, Sakura, and I were... on the swings for a little bit before they walked me home."

He knew a lie when he saw one, but he let it slide. "That's alright, Chouji. I'm happy that you've made new friends."

Chouji blushed and looked down at his feet while the other two giggled at his reaction. Chouza patted his head affectionately and looked at the mismatched pair next to his son. "Would you two like to stay for dinner?"

Naruto's eyes flew wide in panic at that as he inched closer to Sakura. "N-No thanks, oji-san, I, erm, already ate, 'ttebayo," he stammered. Sakura frowned before offering the Akimichi Head a polite smile.

"I'm sorry, Akimichi-san, but I'm afraid I have an errand to run," she said, motioning to the folders in her other arm. Chouza cast her a curious eye.

"Maybe next time, then."

The two bid Chouji and his father goodbye, Naruto a bit louder than necessary, before walking down the lantern lit streets as they talked amongst themselves.

"Why'd that weird guy make you go on an errand for him, Sakura-chan?" Chouza heard Naruto ask.

"Like I said, I owed Shiranui-san a favor. And he's not weird, just a little bit... out there," she replied. Chouza closed the front door and sent his son upstairs to wash up.

_'Shiranui-san? Is she talking about Genma?'_

::

The district he lived in was nowhere near as nice or safe as everywhere else in Konoha, but it was lit up with neon lights and flashing signs. The second they entered the area, Naruto grabbed her hand and stopped. "You don't have to walk me to my apartment, Sakura-chan," he warned quietly. "It's not safe for you here."

That's when Sakura realized just exactly where she was. The Akasen.  _The Red Light District_. Rage churned in her stomach as she let the information seep in. He was six. Naruto was only six. He saved the whole village by serving as the Kyuubi's vessel against his will. He was a hero-- the future Hokage! This was the boy who was going to save the Elemental Nations and end the war to bring on a new era of peace. Why in all  _seven_ fucking _hells_  could everyone let him, a  _child_ , live in the Akasen?!

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto squeaked.

"How long have you lived here, Naruto?" she asked. His eyes darted in every direction but hers. Sakura's lips were pressed in a firm line and her eyes were stone cold that wouldn't accept any lie. Naruto's hand squeezed tighter around her's.

"Since... Since they kicked me out of the orphanage two years ago. I lived on the streets for a lil' bit until the owner of  _Magenta_ , Mari-san, let me stay in the apartment above the bar," he confessed. Sakura bit her cheek.

"And what exactly is  _Magenta_?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Um... a trans-vezz-tite bar, I think?" he mumbled. "I dun' really know what means, but the nee-sans there are nice to me so it's okay. All I gotta do is wash dishes sometimes or go on errands for Mari-san."

"Let me see where you live," Sakura demanded. Naruto shook his head.

"No! What happens if you get hurt, Sakura-chan? Sure you can hand it over ta' those bastards who made funa' Chouji, but the adults here aren't like them! They—"

"I'm worried about you, Naruto!" she shouted. Naruto's jaw dropped a fraction and his eyebrows raised up to his hairline. "I know you haven't known me for a long time but I'm your friend and I want to know if you're okay! Now that I know that you live here, I'm so, so worried about you... Let me check up on you.  _Please_."

She blanched when his bottom lip started to quiver and went still when he lunged to bring her into a bone-crushing hug. He cried into her shoulder as he held onto her for dear life.

"...  _Why do you care so much?_ " he whimpered. Sakura wrapped her arms around him.

"I told you, Naruto. I'm your friend."

When he pulled away, he immediately blubbered apologies about the tears and snot on her shirt, but she assured him it was fine and followed him on his way to the apartment. They went down the alleyways and side streets of the district before walking behind a pink, neon-lit building. A blonde woman with two pigtails was loitering around the stairs, sporting platform heels and a skin-tight leather dress. She raised the two fingers holding her cigarette in greeting.

"Yo, Naru-chan."

"Hi, Mari-san."

Naruto pulled Sakura up the stairs and brought her into his apartment. "Well, this is it, dattebayo."

He flipped on the lights and led her to the kitchen. The place was an absolute mess with instant ramen cups and chip bags littering the floor. Dishes sat in the sink, unwashed, and his table was piled with even more trash.

"You need to clean your apartment," she deadpanned. Naruto chuckled sheepishly.

"Hehe... maybe one day, Sakura-chan," he said. She opened his refrigerator, frowning when he saw a couple of moldy carrots in an otherwise empty space. This was unacceptable. She shut the fridge with an audible snap and turned around.

"Naruto, can I place stickers around your apartment?"

"E-Eh? Stickers?"

"Mm. Stickers."

"Oh, um... sure. Go ahead."

Sakura took out her well-practiced protection seals that she stuck in the inside of her shirt and stuck them on sort of obvious places: the corner of his window, beneath his bed, on the floor outside his bathroom, on his fridge, and on his front door.

"Sorry I can't stay too long because of the whole T&I thing I have to do, but I'll come back tomorrow morning. Is that alright with you?" she asked. Naruto grinned and bobbed his head.

"Of course, Sakura-chan! But—"

"I can walk myself out of the district, don't worry," she assured. "I'll even stick to the shadows so no one sees me."

"Well... I guess..." he mumbled uncertainly. Sakura gave him another hug before waving and leaving the apartment. As she went down the stairs, she saw Mari still at the stairs. When the woman caught sight of her, she flicked her cigarette onto the ground and crushed it with the toe of her heels.

"You gunna' take care of that boy?" she asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

Mari saluted her before strutting into the building. Sakura glanced around her, making sure no one was around, and bounded on the roof tops to the T&I building. The sun was nearly down when she landed at the front doors of her desired location. She pushed the glass doors open and walked up to the receptionist. Kotetsu.

He peered at her from over his desk. "Oh? You lost or something?"

She fished out Genma's ID from her pocket and handed it over.

"Shiranui-san wanted me to deliver some documents for him. As a favor, of course," she said. Kotetsu stared at the card incredulously before turning his gaze to the little girl who was waiting patiently with the folders in her hands and her eyes drifting curiously about the room. He reluctantly gave back the ID and slowly pointed to the stairs.

"Morino-san's office is on third floor, last door at the end of the hall. Do you want me to go with you...?"

"No thank you... Hagane-san," Sakura replied as she read the name on the desk, "I'm sure I can handle it."

Kotetsu watched her go with a dropped jaw and a skeptical eye.

::

"Do you see this wonderfully sleek fur, nya? So brown! So purrfectly shampooed! It's like the most finely woven silk that was made from the hands of tired, yet beautiful seamstress who spent day and night making such a  _fabulous_  cloth! Feel my fur, nya! Feel it!"

Sasori stared at the Havana Brown cat stretched before him. "... Are you Kou-chan?"

"That is absolutely, positively my name, Sasori-kun! Now feel my fur and I'll give you Sakura-chan's message."

He stroked Kou's backside before nodding, impressed. "Wow. Your fur  _is_  soft."

Kou giggled gleefully before there was a puff of smoke and a scroll appeared in his tail. "Here, nya!"

_ Sure, I'd never regard you as odd, Sasori-san. Something has yet to happen in Konoha, but maybe it's just me. I'm only five after all. Nothing really happens until my genin days, which would be between six to seven years in the future. I'll try to lower the wait time and get Naruto and Sasuke to graduate two years earlier. _

_ Also, could you send me all the poisons and their antidotes at your disposal? I'm going to try and build up an immunity to them. _

Sasori burned the note after committing the words to memory. He had many poisons back at the base-- about seven strong ones in total.

"Thank you, Kou-chan. That'll be all."

"Nya!"

He was about to turn away and make his lengthy journey back to Amegakure from Wind Country when he heard quiet sniffles in the distance. Curious, he leapt through the trees to the source and saw someone at a river bank.

It was a small boy with deep red hair that nearly matched his own.

::

Edited: 1/27/18


	6. T&I

In her time, Sakura never really had the chance or reason to visit the T&I building. The people in that line of work never crossed paths with the hospital or were in need of medics, and now that she looked back on it, the two had very different sets of morals. Sure they were both shinobi, but one tortured for information and the other healed wounds and refused to inflict harm on patients. It wasn't until the war started that the sectors had started working closely together.

On the third floor, she received odd glances from the shinobi she passed in the hallway. They whispered to each other and Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Did they think she couldn't hear them? When she arrived at the office, she knocked twice and leaned back on her heels as she waited. An entire minute later, she heard Ibiki speak. "Come in."

Sakura opened the door to see Ibiki scribbling something on a piece of paper. He was completely engrossed in his work and didn't bother raising his gaze.

"You finally have those documents for me, Shiranui?"

"Shiranui-san told me to deliver these for him."

Ibiki's hand froze for a few seconds before he set down the pen and leaned back in his seat. He raised an eyebrow. "And who the hell are you?"

"Haruno Sakura. I'm joining the Academy next term, nice to meet you."

Immediately, Ibiki could tell something was off about her. She held herself in a dignified manner like an aged and hardened shinobi who had breathed the air of war for  _ years _ . Her words were well enunciated in a way that didn't suit her small self, making Ibiki begin to understand why Shiranui would even think to send her to his office in the first place.

He took the folders she offered him and placed it to the side without breaking eye contact. He stayed quiet a bit more, intensifying his gaze-- daring her to flinch or look away. 

She didn't.

Oh? How interesting.

"Will that be all, Morino-san?" she asked.

"... Come back here tomorrow. We'll have a talk."

Sakura couldn't mask the surprise on her face.

::

Undoubtedly, it was a boy. His knees were pressed to his chest with his arms wound tight around his knees and his face pressed in the crook of his elbow. It seemed that he was crying silently to himself with his shoulders shaking slightly and hiccup sounding noises echoing through the empty forest. Sasori jumped down from his perch and landed on the other side of the river.

"Are you alright?"

The boy's head shot up as fear danced in his sea foam green eyes. The sand around Sasori began to shift threateningly. "Did tou-sama send you to find me?" he questioned apprehensively, "Or Yashamaru?"

"...No," Sasori replied smoothly, cautiously eyeing the sand around him. "I don't know either of the them. I'm just asking if you're alright."

The sand shifted for a little longer before it finally dropped. Sasori released the breath he didn't know he was holding and properly crossed his legs.

"I'm okay. I just needed to leave for a little bit," the boy answered solemnly. The older man didn't say a word and merely sat on the opposite side of the river with a small smile on his face. He pulled out a small puppet prototype from one of the pockets in his cloak and attached a few chakra strings to it. Once in control, he sent the puppet to walk across the river to dance for the little boy. When Sasori heard the small giggles that bubbled from his lips, his smile grew wider.

"So, what's your name?"

The boy looked up. "G-Gaara," he introduced shyly. "What's yours?"

"Hiruko," Sasori answered. He glanced behind Gaara before standing and dusting himself off. "I have to leave. It seems that somebody has come to get you after all. Perhaps your tou-sama or that Yashamaru?"

Gaara's face dropped. "Do you have to go, Hiruko? You can't go back to the village with me?" 

Sasori shook his head and watched as the boy's bottom lip trembled. He walked across the river and crouched in front of the boy.

"Will... Will I ever see you again?" Gaara sniffed. Sasori tousled his hair lightly.

"Of course. I don't know when, but I'll come back one day," he promised. Gaara looked up when the hand was lifted from his head and saw no one. Maybe Hiruko was a figment of imagination. He wouldn't be surprised if he was-- no one was ever nice to him like that. But the puppet that danced for him was still at his feet and Gaara smiled.

"Gaara-sama!"

A wooden arm touched his shoulder. He turned around to see one of his father's ANBU: Komushi, the infamous leader of the  _ Kugutsu Butai. _

::

The next day at eight in the morning, Sakura stood outside Naruto's apartment with grocery bags occupying both her hands. Naruto answered the door with a groggy yawn. She raised an eyebrow at his purple pajamas and odd sleeping cap before greeting him. "Good morning, Naruto."

"G'mornin' Sak'ra-chan. You're real early..."

"A good shinobi rises with the sun," she chided lightly, "and you do want to become a good shinobi, don't you?"

He gave her some incoherent grumbles before stepping to the side and letting her in. The place was just as much as a pig sty as the day before, Sakura noted dryly, and there seemed to be more ramen cups piled on his kitchen table. 

But her first priority was the fridge.

She removed the putrid carrots from the top shelf and set them on Naruto's overflowing trash can. The fridge could do with a good cleaning as well, but Sakura decided that she could save that bit after the rest of the apartment was absolutely  _ sparkling _ . She placed the items from the grocery bags inside and shut the door, then turned around and saw Naruto napping quietly at the overcrowded table. She exhaled through her nose.

_ 'I suppose there's no harm in letting him sleep more. He's only a kid, after all.' _

Sakura returned her attention to the mess that surrounded her and folded up the sleeves of her blue shirt. She might as well get started now.

_ It was second year of the war. Shizune and a handful of others were sent to the nearest village to gather more supplies that were generously donated to their cause. That left Sakura in charge of the five medics they currently had on hand in the main camp. Luckily enough, only one or two shinobi in their care was in critical condition while everyone else had mild enough injuries. _

_ Ino was out surveying the extension of the camp, making sure everything went according to plan. Kiba, as well as other members of the Inuzuka Clan, served as messengers between all the battlefields. But Kiba specifically delivered messages through the infirmary camp circuits. He was somewhere in the middle of the camp, resting up with Akamaru and preparing for their next round of deliveries. _

_ Sakura stepped out of one of the tents, breathing out a deep sigh. She had just finished examining Neji and deemed him completely stable. Both his legs were broken and even with extensive healing, he wouldn't be back out for another month if he wanted both legs functioning correctly. _

_ She stretched an arm over her head and looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened when she saw white blobs falling from the sky. They expanded on top and around the camp, creating a mile radius of those odd falling things. In the midst of them was the outline of a large bird. _

**_Deidara._ **

_ She tried to open her mouth to scream a warning, but the soft shout of triumph from the skies made her voice turn to syrup in her throat. _

_ "Katsu!" _

_ The next thing she knew, her vision was blurry, her ears were bleeding, and she was buried under pieces of rock and dirt. She summoned chakra to her hands and pulled herself out of the rubble. _

_ Everything was destroyed. Everything. _

_ And if the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach said anything... _

_ She was probably alone as well. _

Naruto stirred about an hour later, having woken up to the scent of some kind of citrus. He blinked and blearily looked around the kitchen. 

"Sakura-chan...? ACK! I fell asleep! Sakura-chan, why didn't you wake me up?!" he exclaimed. Naruto jumped out of his seat and immediately toppled onto the waxed wooden floor. He marveled at the squeaky clean luster as he slowly got up onto his feet. Sakura poked her head in the room.

"Good morning again, Naruto," she smiled. "Now that you're really up, you can go clean the bathroom."

She gave him an armful of cleaning supplies before going back to wax Naruto's bedroom floor.

"N-No, Sakura-chan, wait! I'll finish waxing, dattebayo!" Naruto called, setting down the cleaning supplies and chasing after her. "I'll finish waxing, clean the bathroom, and-and do all the other things ya' need me ta' do! You already did a lot so I want you ta' take a break, okay?"

She couldn't say no to his blinding grin. Sakura settled at the kitchen table while surveying her handiwork. The trash she collected filled up five whole garbage bags that she left next to the dumpster behind Magenta. It didn't even take that long to clean up thanks to a couple of her clones (not like she was going to tell Naruto that). Most of the time she spent cleaning the tables and windows, waxing the kitchen floor, and placing more modified protection seals around the apartment.

It wasn't for another hour and a half until Naruto finished cleaning the rest of the apartment and burst into the kitchen with a cheery call of:

"Sakura-chan~! I finished!" he chirped. "So what are we gonna do now? Practice with kunai and shuriken? Oh! Oh! Maybe we can go to the park again? Or-Or-Or--!"

"I'm going to teach you how to cook," she interrupted. Naruto paused and looked at her curiously.

"Eh?"

"I'm going to teach you how to cook," she repeated. She stood and pulled the fridge door open and gestured to its contents, "I got some stuff for you before I came over. I can't let you live off instant ramen for the rest of your life, now can I?"

When Sakura looked back at him, his eyes were glued to his feet and his arms were crossed tightly over his chest. She couldn't see his eyes but she guessed that he again was on the verge of tears. She took a step forward.

"Naruto?"

"All the other kids hate me n'stuff, and the grown ups hate me even more, dattebayo. But you're so...  _ different _ . Why aren't you like everyone else? Why do you gotta be so... so..."

He brought a hand to his face and rubbed at his eyes. At the same moment, he raised his head and gave her a dazzling smile as tears streamed down his cheeks. "So whattya' gonna teach me, Sakura-chan?"

::

She left his apartment in the early afternoon after she was content that he retained the recipe for  _ Kitsune Udon _ and  _ Sumashijiru _ . She had to admit, she did feel guilty for making Naruto cry a second time, but was relieved that she could instill the thought that she fully intended to stay his friend. Once she was out of the Akasen, she looked up at the sky and sighed.

_ 'Now to Morino-san.' _

This time, she didn't take the rooftop route and took her sweet time walking towards the T&I building. Sakura could fathom the reason why Ibiki would want to see her again. For one, her actions did count as strange for a five year old. She tried to act like a kid. Really, she did. But after seeing war with her own eyes, it was hard for her to transition back into a carefree life.

_ No. She wouldn't believe it. _

_ Sakura limped through what was left of the camp and sought out any other survivors. Not a single person was above the rubble, making her wince at thought of everyone being crushed under the upturned dirt and charred wood. _

**_Please, let there be at least one. Anybody. Please._ **

_ A hand poked out near one of the tents. Sakura rushed over as quickly as she could and dug through the wreckage with bare hands. Blood bloomed on her palms and fingers from the ferocity of her digging, but the pain was numbed. She couldn't feel a single thing. _

_ Eventually, she found someone.  Long blonde hair. Purple outfit. Sakura placed her hand on the idle body and felt for a pulse. Nothing. _

_ And that's how Shizune and the rest of the supply group found her-- in the midst of destruction, a body cradled in her arms, and mouth turned upwards: screaming curses at the sky. _

When she stepped through the doors, Kotetsu waved her towards the stairs with a smile.

"Morino-san's up in his office, as usual. Remember the way?"

"Of course. Have a good afternoon, Hagane-san."

Sakura walked back onto the third floor and was treated with the same curious stares she was given the day before. Ibiki's office door was wide open with the aforementioned sitting behind his desk. Genma was there as well, leaned against the back wall. He raised his hand in greeting. "Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"Shiranui-san. Morino-san," she acknowledged, "what can I do for you?"

Ibiki and Genma exchanged subtle glances. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"You've caught our attention, to be frank. You're far more mature than any other kid your age and from what I can sense, you're muting your chakra intentionally. That's a chuunin-level skill," Ibiki explained. "You also come from a civilian family. Tell me, what else are you able to do?"

She considered lying, but then she remembered she was in the  _ goddamn T&I building _ . "I can walk up trees, walk on water, and I'm practicing taijutsu. I'm also learning how to utilize my wrist blades." she admitted. Genma looked thoroughly impressed while Ibiki maintained his blank mask.

"Hm. How would you feel if we were to bring you into the intelligence sector?" he asked. Sakura blinked.

"You want to  _ recruit _ me?"

::

_ Kugutsu Butai _ : Puppet Brigade

_ Kitsune Udon _ : Udon noodles in hot dashi soup, topped with fried tofu

_ Sumashijiru _ : Clear soup with tofu. Also called  _ Suimono _ .

::

Edited: 1/27/18


	7. Omake: In Her Time

Kakashi was standing on the sidelines at the Valley of the End, watching as Naruto and Sasuke finally battled it out. He wanted to interfere, but knew that he couldn't. Those two were chakra powerhouses that couldn't be stopped no matter how much anyone tried. They were entering the thirty-fourth hour of the fight.

Their fight was drawing close to the end. He could feel it.

Suddenly, Sakura made her arrival beside him. Kakashi's head whipped over at his other student, taking in war-worn appearance. There were heavy bags under hardened, lethargic eyes. Multiple scars that decorated what he could see of her arms and a horrid burn mark that angrily wrapped around her neck like a noose. He hadn't seen her for three whole years and winced, keeping himself from imagining what kind of hell she had been through.

"Kakashi. A surprise to see you here," she greeted apathetically, causing Kakashi to wince. "I heard Naruto and Sasuke were fighting and came as soon as I could. Is it impossible to stop them?"

He sighed. "Unless you want to die in the crossfire, then yes. Impossible."

They lapsed into silence. An hour passed as they watched as Naruto and Sasuke attacked with animalistic vigor. Their chakras were running low and they were wearing thin from the taijutsu attacks they subjected themselves to. Eventually, they broke apart, one at each end and panting heavily. Sakura straightened.

"They're going to kill each other," she said. Kakashi's hands tightened into fists.

"Aa. They are."

"... I'm sorry, Kakashi."

He collapsed onto the ground with a yelp and immediately looked down at his body. Aside from his neck and eyes, he couldn't move. At all. He was _paralyzed_. Kakashi's eyes went up to Sakura, who looked unremorseful as she offered him a tired smile.

"It's only temporary, I promise." She turned towards the Valley of the End. "I know it's not my place to ask for a favor, but... tell everyone I'm sorry. Tell Naruto that I believe that he'll become Hokage, and tell Sasuke that I believe one day that he'll be happy. And you, Kakashi..."

Sakura mouthed the words to him before sprinting off.

It was like the scene was ripped from his memory before it forced him to watch it replay before his very eyes. It was like they were on the hospital rooftop again. Naruto was on the left side, arm outstretched in front of him and rasengan spinning wildly in his palm. Sasuke was coming down from the right, chidori crackling and its light engulfing nearly the entirety of his body. And Sakura was running towards the middle of them before their jutsu could clash.

But in his memory, he was able to stop them before things could go too far.

Time slowed down as he could only watch as she slid between the two of them, her front facing to the left. Naruto's arm pierced her stomach, and Sasuke's pierced her heart. Naruto began to shake, his eyes looking over the shoulder of the woman he called his best friend and saw his hand and forearm coated in her blood.

"Ah... A-Ah..."

Sasuke had a similar look on his face as his sharingan faded from existence and his gaze hypnotized by the white circle on the back of the person he'd perforated. His eyes then went to the short crop of pink hair, then to his hand on the other side of the body.

A heart was in his hand.

"...No..." he breathed. He and Naruto retracted their arms from her at the same time and lowered her unmoving body onto the ground. Her eyes were unfocused and torpid, staring up at absolutely nothing.

"Sa... Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered. She wasn't breathing and she was bleeding out so profusely that her blood was pooling around their knees. Tears started to drip down his cheeks as he called out her name like a prayer.

" **_SAKURA-CHAN!!!_ ** " he screamed. Sasuke was frozen as he stared down at the face of the woman who once told him that she loved him.

"Sa... Sakura?" he mumbled. "No—I didn't—NO! Sakura! Wake up—I'm sorry! I didn't mean—I..."

Kakashi looked away.

::

Tsunade walked up to the entrance of the main infirmary camp and placed her hands on her hips. With the war over, she was able to help out the other medics and heal the shinobi that were injured in the last moments of battle. Sakura was with her as well, but had bolted off a couple of hours ago the moment she heard that Sasuke and Naruto were fighting at the Valley of the End. Now Kakashi was standing before, looking everywhere but her eyes. She smirked.

"What? You found my apprentice?" she asked. Kakashi's gaze sank lower.

"Ho... Hokage-sama..." he began quietly. Tsunade's face dropped instantly.

"What happened, Kakashi?"

He didn't continue, merely turning to look back behind him. Sasuke was walking up the pathway, Naruto lingering slightly behind and carrying something in his arms. Tsunade scowled at the sight of the Uchiha and his blood-stained pants before focusing on what, or who, in this case, Naruto was carrying. Her face slowly twisted into that of pure, unadulterated horror once she saw Sakura's stationary body.

"...She isn't."

"We didn't mean to, Baa-chan," Naruto said as his bottom lip began to quiver. "Sasuke and I were fighting and Sakura-chan... S-Sakura-chan..."

Her tightened his hold on her body and began to sob into her hair. Tsunade wasn't having any of that. Her hands flared a spring green as she placed them on Sakura.

Pulse: None.

"Sakura, you aren't dead."

Breathing: None.

"Sakura, I swear to god!"

Heart: Absent.

"I did _not_ give you permission to die!"

Possibility of survival due to sustained injuries: 0.00%.

"If this is some sick JOKE I'll--"

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes looking the saddest she had ever seen them. Tsunade heaved in a ragged breath and withdrew her hands. She pressed a hand to her mouth and turned around.

"Take her to the makeshift morgue. We'll send her body back to Konoha along with the others tomorrow morning."

::

Her funeral was so big that it surprised even Sasuke. The remainder of the Konoha 11 attended: Shino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Hinata, and of course, Naruto. Neji, Ino, and Kiba perished in that infirmary camp bombing five years prior. Chouji and Lee both died on the battlefield in the sixth year. Outside of the Konoha 11, Sai was killed on the battlefield in the fifth year due to an ambush against the squad he was a part of. No one from the squad survived.

But aside from the typical people one would expect, many other shinobi, even civilians, attended the funeral as well. Tenten grew intrigued at the sheer amount of people who were attending and approached a teenager who was standing alone in the crowd.

"Quite a lot of people, isn't it?" Tenten remarked quietly. The teenager bobbed her head.

"I knew there would be. I think they're all here for the same reason I am," she replied. Tenten peered at her curiously.

"And what reason would that be?"

"Well... for me, at least, Haruno-sensei saved my life. It was during the attack on Konoha at the beginning of the war. An enormous centipede came after me and my baa-chan and she saved us." She smiled at the memory. "I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for Haruno-sensei. The very least I could do for her is give her my thanks one last time," she said. Tenten ran her eyes through the people. People of all ages and sizes were here. These were all her patients?

_'You really are an amazing person, Sakura.'_

At night, only Kakashi was left. Naruto had to leave at about sundown. He couldn't bear the sight of Sakura being lowered in her casket that he ran off, tears threatening to fall down his face again. Sasuke had to go with ANBU, as he still wouldn't be pardoned from his actions and had to receive some sort of punishment. But Kakashi...

For hours, he stared at her gravestone. A part of him still couldn't believe that she was gone or that she'd go so far as to run in between two lethal jutsu. He was there-- he could've stopped her if he hadn't let his guard down when she appeared. She could have lived, but...

... but then Naruto and Sasuke would've died.

Kakashi pulled down his mask and ran a hand over his face.

"I let you down, Sakura. I neglected your potential and let you grow up by yourself. You knew that, and yet, you were still kind in your last moments," he sighed. "You didn't need to apologize. _I_ was the one who needed to say sorry. Not you. Especially not you."

He wilted at the thought of her name being one of the many that would be carved in the memorial stone.

_"I know it's not my place to ask for a favor, but... tell everyone I'm sorry. Tell Naruto that I believe that he'll become Hokage, and tell Sasuke that I believe one day that he'll be happy. And you, Kakashi..."_

_Sakura mouthed the words to him before sprinting off._

**_"... thank you for being my sensei."_ **

Kakashi slumped forward. He didn't think that she'd be one of the ghosts that would haunt him. Rin, even Obito... He pulled himself onto his feet and checked his pocket watch.

12:04 am.

His eyes fell shut as he pushed away the urge to cry.

"Happy Birthday, Haruno Sakura."

::

Edited 1/29/18


	8. Intelligence

_ "Hm. How would you feel if we were to bring you into the intelligence sector?" he asked. Sakura blinked. _

_ "You want to  _ recruit _ me?" _

::

"Recruit is a strong word, Sakura-chan," Genma said. "You're just a suitable person that we want to join our forces."

"... You realize that's the definition of recruit, right, Shiranui-san?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Sakura turned her gaze to the window as she considered their offer. She could deny it, but she had to say, an offer like this could really help her along the way and give her the extra training she needed to increase a lot of aspects about herself. For one, if she had training within this sector, she could raise her chakra capacity even further than she had done for herself. The capacity she had now wasn't satisfying, as she could only train on the water's surface for about forty-five minutes before she ran dangerously low.

"I would accept the offer," she said, "but you'd have to ask my parents first, and I don't know what they'll say."

She wasn't lying that time. Content with the answer, Ibiki stood. "Shiranui, show Haruno around the building. I'll be no more than an hour."

He sauntered out of the office, leaving Genma to smile down at the small girl. "So, Sakura-chan. Shall we get going? The building's pre~tty big."

::

It took a lot to get Ibiki genuinely interested. He had been in the T&I for a number of years and had seen his fair share of different personalities and attitudes, but never had he seen a child like that Haruno Sakura. He knew how kids acted as he once had a younger brother himself. Kids were supposed to be a bit ignorant, carefree, and have a bit of naivety no matter who they were. Hell, even Uchiha kids acted like normal kids-- and their  _ entire clan _ had sticks up their asses.

Something was severely wrong with her. Really. And he was going to figure out what it was.

The particular aspect about her that bothered him the most were her eyes. They looked... tired. Not the I-didn't-get-enough-sleep kind of tired, but the I've-seen-too-much kind of tired. But what could she have seen? There was something else unsettling about her eyes. Along with that tired look was something sort of... haunted.

The only time he'd seen that kind of haunted look was from a war veteran who had seen their friends die around them. Or he’d see that look in victims of things like abuse or trauma.

Ibiki walked down a residential street to an apartment complex chock full of civilians. He quietly slipped through the small crowds of people and went to the fifth floor and the last door down the hall. It was a Saturday-- they should be home. He knocked twice. A blonde woman answered the door, eyes widening in surprise when she saw the hitai-ate on his forehead.

"What can I do for you, Shinobi-san?"

"My name is Morino Ibiki, and I have a few questions to ask you about your daughter—Haruno Sakura."

She stepped to the side and let him in. Once through the threshold, Ibiki observed the decor. It looked like any normal, caring household. Mebuki led him to the kitchen and motioned him to sit down as she bustled about to get him tea. She soon poured two cups and sat down across from him.

"So what is it about Sakura? She's not in trouble, is she?"

"Not at all, Haruno-san. It's actually quite the opposite. Your daughter has shown shown some exceptional qualities for a shinobi despite her young age. My associate and I believe she has great potential to develop her skills in the intelligence sector, and even though she has yet to start the Academy, we would like to bring her under an internship of sorts," he said. Ibiki anticipated her to give him an absolute look of disgust or shock, but she only sighed.

"Lately, Sakura has been so mature and withdrawn. It was as if one day, she woke up a completely different person. I don't know what goes through that girl's head anymore. I even found multiple scrolls filled with protection seals under her bed."

Ibiki wasn't aware that Sakura was capable of making her own seals. That information only tacked on more of his interest. 

"She even went out of her way to make friends with Uzumaki Naruto. And he's quite a nice boy. A bit loud, but who isn't?"

His interest furthered even more. Mebuki sighed again and took a sip of her tea. "I'll let her take the internship if that's what she wants," she complied. "I know she'll just go with it anyways if we decide to deny it. All I ask is that you send something like progress reports every now and then."

Ibiki gave her a strange look. "Progress reports? Won't she just tell you the things she's learned or the things she's done?" he asked. Mebuki shook her head, a sad smile on her face.

"Sakura tells us things, but never goes into detail about the things she does. You see," she explained, "on weekdays we don't get to see her in the day because of our jobs, and my husband sometimes longer because there would be days he'd be forced to take on extra hours on the weekends, like today. On those days, she leaves  _ bunshins _ and goes off to do who knows what. I don't think she realizes that I'd sometimes see her out and about the village even when our neighbor says she's been in the apartment all day."

Mebuki looked thoroughly dejected at this as her eyes clouded over. Ibiki leaned back slightly in his seat, mulling over what he just learned. Making seals, befriending the village pariah, and having the ability to make clones... Sakura was very quickly edging into child prodigy territory. 

"I hope that you and your associate could help Sakura develop her skills and bring her out of her shell."

Ibiki inclined his head. "We'll try our very best, Haruno-san." 

Mebuki smiled and took another sip of her tea.

::

"So, first floor's just the lobby. Sometimes you'll see Hagane Kotetsu as the receptionist, other times Kamizuki Izumo or Tobitake Tonbo. A lot of the times, the desk is empty though. We fill it if we can. Second floor is where our holding cells are. Top notch stuff. Third are the offices, as you could see, and the basement is where all the nasty stuff goes down." Genma grinned, "We could take a quick peek if you're up for it."

Sakura shrugged. "Sure."

He pouted at her lack of enthusiasm but led her down the cement steps to the dark hallway. Chakra enhanced two-way mirrors and doors lined both sides. As they walked down, Sakura could see metal tables and chairs in some, and just a single chair in others. The interrogation rooms couldn't be bothered to be cleaned either with aged bloodstains coating the walls and floor. She grimaced.

"How unhigee-- unhygii--... un-hy-gee..."

"Unhygienic?" Genma supplied with a wide grin.

"Yeah. That. Shut up, Shiranui-san."

She walked a little ways ahead of him, cheeks coloring as she inwardly cursed her underdeveloped pronunciation. Looking to the right, she saw that the second to last room was occupied with none other than Shikamaru's father, alive and well, and some poor bastard being subjected to his interrogation tactics. But she already missed most of the action. Genma walked up beside her.

"Ah. That's Nara Shikaku. He doesn't do interrogation all that much and normally works with the Cryptanalysis Team the next building over. That guy is a prime example of a real genius 'cept he's a real lazy sack of bones. Can't get him do anything around here," he grumbled. "It's a real wonder how someone got him to do his job, much less an interrogation."

Shikaku knocked the prisoner out before giving a wide yawn and walking out. When saw Genma, he raised a hand in a lazy wave. "Afternoon, Genma."

His eyes then trailed down to the short, pink-haired girl.

"And who's this young lady?"

"Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you, Nara-san," she greeted. He raised an eyebrow at her. It was odd to see someone so young in the building. And by the looks of it, she was about the same age as his son.

"Nice to meet you too, Sakura-chan," he replied slowly. He lifted his eyes back to Genma who easily explained the situation.

"When we get her parent's permission, we'll get her to train a bit and work under the Intelligence Sector. I'm just showing her around," he chirped.

"Really?" Shikaku mused. He glanced back down at the girl who returned the look with hard, calculating eyes. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine. Strange. "I'm going to report my findings to Inoichi. Have fun, you two."

He stuffed both hands of his pockets and started his trek out of the basement. He did throw one curious glance over his shoulder before disappearing up the steps. Sakura tore her eyes away from his retreated form and looked back into the interrogation room.

"So are you just going to leave him in there?" she questioned. Genma bobbed his head.

"Yup. He'll probably be in there for a couple of hours before an actual interrogator comes down here to finish up."

She stayed quiet before glancing up at him. "Have you ever accidentally swallowed that senbon? Seems like you have."

Genma pulled a face before turning away and scratching his cheek. "Maybe once."

She smiled a bit at that. Suddenly, she heard the door open and the light tapping of footsteps that followed. Genma's name was called out by a voice Sakura thought held an uncanny familiarity. How? This voice was cheerful and light-hearted and nothing like the voice back in her world. Someone in a green flak jacket came into view, Uchiha clan crests in blue four pointed stars stitched onto the shoulders of his black long sleeved shirt, and orange goggles stuck on his forehead on top of his hitai-ate.

Genma grinned. "What's up, Obito?"

::

Sasori stood in the kitchen, staring intently at the burning pot sitting on the stove. What did he do wrong? He was pretty sure he followed the recipe... Kisame walked in a few minutes later and paused, eyes first going to the fire, then to the confused man standing in front of it.

"... What are you doing?" he asked.

"I was trying to cook noodles," Sasori answered. Kisame looked to the counter and saw the package of uncooked noodles sitting there; unopened.

"The noodles aren't even in--  _ did you just burn boiling water? _ "

"There's not just water in there. I put oil in too."

"... But... The noodles aren't..." 

Kisame simply shut his mouth, turned on his heel, and walked back out of the kitchen. It was six in the morning and it was far too early for him to deal with Sasori's recent weirdness. As he walked to his room, he heard Sasori call after him.

"Where are you going? Tell me what I did wrong with the noodles!"

::

Edited: 1/29/18


	9. Sasuke

_ ‘No, no, no, this wasn’t happening. He’s not here, he’s not alive, he won’t do anything—but what if he does? What if it happens again? All of it? He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t,  _ **_please_ ** _ don’t let him!!!” _

"You're real hard to find, you know?" Obito whined. "I was out looking all over Konoha for you! You weren't at any of the restaurants, the bars, the training grounds, but you end up in the bowels of the T&I building!"

His complaining was short lived when he saw the little girl at Genma's side. His lips stretched into a friendly grin.

"Uchiha Obito," he introduced happily as he put out a hand, "And you?"

Sakura swallowed down her fear and kept a neutral facade as she took his hand and gave a firm shake. The memories started up again. Him, his mocking smirk, the look of pleasure lit up in his sharingan when he’d--

She frantically tried to erase the image of the man who started the Fourth Shinobi World War. He wasn't the same as he was back in her time. It was impossible. 

"Haruno Sakura."

It took all of her willpower to stop the quiver in her words.

She was grateful when there was an interruption of the door opening and the sound of footsteps coming their way. Ibiki graced the three of them with his presence, acknowledging Obito with a glance and the slight tilt of his head. His gaze then flickered to Sakura.

"You have your parents approval. Come with me. Shiranui, join us when you finish your business," he said. She nodded, waved at Genma and Obito, and left with the head interrogator.

::

"Eh? She has something to do for you guys?" Obito asked once he and Genma were alone in the basement. Genma nodded.

"Yup. We're bringing her into the intelligence sector."

Obito made a displeased face. "Already? She's so young..."

He didn't like when young kids were brought into the shinobi lifestyle at such a young age. He knew two people who had been subjected into that kind of thing. One of them was his cousin, the prodigy of the clan, and the other was his best friend, the prodigy of his team. And by the looks of it, this girl-- Haruno Sakura-- was starting out far earlier than the two. Even slightly earlier than _ Kakashi _ .

"We aren't going to force her to do interrogations if that's what you're thinking, and we're not going to turn her into some killing machine. This was purely her choice and if she wants out, she's out."

Obito wasn't convinced. Genma sighed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Lighten up, goggles. It's not the end of the world. So why'd you come looking for me anyways?"

"Hm? Oh, right. You've got a mission with me, Aoba, and Raido. Real easy A-rank to Ishigakure. We meet at the gates tomorrow morning at seven," he provided. Genma groaned. It wasn't that he didn't like going on missions, it was just that Ishigakure was so _ humid _ that taking a shower in the hottest months of the year was wasted effort.

"Fine, whatever," he grumbled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back up to Morino-san's office before he bites my head off for being late."

"I still don't like it!"

Genma was already up the stairs. "Deal with it, red eye!"

He left the basement and took his sweet time on his way to Ibiki's office. Maybe Obito did have a point. She was just a little girl just under six years old who wasn't even in the Academy yet and they were already bringing her into one of Konoha's forces. But what could he say? It was hard to find talent like hers. And if they were able to cultivate such skill from such a young age, she could become a great asset to Konoha.

_ 'Damn, when did I start thinking like Ibiki?' _

When he entered the office, Sakura was sitting on the chair in front of Ibiki's desk. She had a clipboard in her hands and was writing something intently. Genma looked over her shoulder, eyes widening when he recognized the paper she was working on. It was the chuunin exams written test-- the one from last year. She had already answered eight out of nine questions, and as far as he could see,  _ all eight of them were most likely right _ .

Jeez, where did this kid come from?

Her pencil tapped her cheek a few times before she scribbled in the last answer. Again, correct. She gave the pencil and clipboard to Ibiki.

"Finished already?"

"The questions weren't that hard. I've seen kinda the same ones in books I've read," she replied with a light smile. Ibiki grunted and quickly scanned her answers. Thinking his eyes had somehow deceived him, he went back to the beginning and reread her answers.

"Well, I'll be fucking damned," he mused. "You got all of them right."

Genma let out a low whistle and leaned against Sakura's chair. "Holy crap, kid, you're a genius. What's next? You can use elemental jutsu?" he joked. Well, she did pick up quite a few in the war, but it wasn't like she was going to tell them something like that. Ibiki put her exam paper in an empty folder and locked it in one of his drawers.

"The next thing we'd like to test are your physical skills and see how advanced you really are," he said. He and Genma led her to the training grounds that Sakura recognized as the place the former Team Seven would sometimes meet up. Her chest ached at the sight and she sighed, looking up at the sky to try and forget.

"How deep are your chakra levels?" Ibiki asked. Sakura forced her gaze back down.

"Still kinda low. I know I've got a long ways to go, but I'm trying to reach maxium cipa—maximim—max—"

"Maximum capacity?" Genma grinned, throwing back a teasing glance. She visibly wilted and hung her head.

"Yeah," she sighed. She needed to stop using large words and embarrassing herself like this. They stopped on a red bridge that stretched over a thin river. Ibiki gestured to the water.

"Stand on the water."

Sakura did as told, hefting herself over the railing and dropping silently onto the river's surface. She waited patiently for the next order but grew suspicious when they stood there with matching smirks on their faces. She saw Genma's hand flinch and instantly brought out her kunai. She blocked six senbon that were shot at her and caught the seventh one between her fingers.

"Your reaction time is pretty good too," Ibiki commented with an impressed nod. "Looks like you can hold your own with the unexpected."

She looked at the senbon in her hand, glaring at the purple liquid dripping from the tip. "I guess it's okay to test me, but why'd you use poison senbon? What if it hit me?!" she exclaimed. Genma shrugged.

"Luckily it didn't, then."

For the next hour, she was asked to perform certain jutsu. Most of them were Academy and genin level techniques with one or two chuunin techniques thrown into the mix. They had also asked for her to handle weapons such as kunai and senbon and even her wrist blades.

"You know," Genma said, "at this rate, I don't think you even  _ have _ to go to the Academy. You could graduate in one semester and be in a genin team around this time next year."

Sakura shook her head. "I won't graduate early. There's someone I don't want to leave behind."

::

It wasn't quite that late, but if she didn't get home soon she knew her parents would get worried. As Sakura walked towards her apartment, she passed by the playground where she usually met Naruto. She did indeed see him at the swings, but he wasn't alone. He looked like he was arguing amiably with a black haired boy.

_ 'Sasuke.' _

She walked over to the both of them.

"—so 'nnoying, 'ttebayo!" Naruto growled as he grabbed fistfuls of blonde hair, "All you do's act all high an' mighty when you're just a bastard!"

"I don't even know what that means so joke's on you, idiot!" Sasuke hissed. They were glaring at each other so intensely that they didn't notice Sakura walked up to them.

"What did I tell you about getting into fights, Naruto?" she chastised. He whipped towards her and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke.

"That bastard—"

"Language."

"—said he could swing better than me! 'Course I don't care 'bout that stuff 'cause I know I'm super awes'me, but then he said that he's better 'cause he's an Uchiwa—"

"It's Uchiha!" Sasuke corrected vehemently.

"—an' all Uchiwa's are better than ev'ryone else!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. She didn't think that Sasuke acted pretentious even at a very young age. Frowning inwardly, she noted that his clan seemed to be relentless in implementing their values into their clan members even at such a young age. Sakura saw a glimpse of that sort of upbringing in the Sasuke from her time and bit back a cringe.

She knew the real reason why Itachi carried out the massacre, and she had to say, he wasn't completely wrong in doing so. There were a million of other ways he could have done it and the path he chose was unethical, but she saw exactly why he did it. And she didn't blame him.

"Well, that's just his opinion. You can't fight everyone on every little thing," she said. Naruto pouted. She then turned to Sasuke, "And you can't just go telling people that you're better because you think you are."

He glowered at her. "I don't think I am, I  _ know _ I am!" 

"You're not even in the Academy yet," Sakura countered smoothly. Sasuke clenched his fists.

"Like you can say somefin' about it! I bet you aren't either! But I'm a Uchiha and the Uchiha are always better," he snapped. She bit the inside of her cheek and stood in front of him defiantly, hands crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed a fraction.

"I don't believe you."

Sasuke bared his teeth and threw a fist forward. Sakura quickly blocked it and knocked him onto the ground faster than Naruto had ever seen. Sasuke stared at her in shock when he realized the situation he was in in. She was on top of him, one foot near his arm and the other folded in a way so that it was over his legs. Her left hand was pressed on his stomach and her right was tightened into a fist that was held in front of his face.

Did he just lose...? Just like that?!

Sakura was still in that position for a few moments before she got up and dusted herself off. She extended a hand to help him up. "See what I mean?" she asked. Sasuke, once recovered from shock, slapped her hand away and got up himself.

"Whatever! You guys are losers anyways!" he snarled. He turned and ran away from the playground. Naruto didn't mind as he bounced in front of Sakura with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan, can you teach me how to do that?!" 

She slowly dragged her gaze away from Sasuke's retreating form and smiled. "Only if you get better at throwing kunai."

"Oh, come on, Sakura-chan!!"

As he continued to whine to her, Sakura couldn't help but think she went too far. But he really did need to get put in his place and she'd be damned if she was ever going to let him turn into the person she knew.

And the first thing that she had to do was wipe away that stupid arrogance of his.

::

Edited: 1/29/18


	10. Studious

Sasori was graced with Kou-chan's ever flamboyant presence once more, this time owing the summons a quick fur brushing. He complied without reluctance.

_ Uchiha Obito is part of the Konoha Keimu Butai, meaning that there must be someone else pulling the strings in the Akatsuki. You could make the assumption that your leader, Yahiko, really is the one in charge this time. Speaking of your leader, the name "Yahiko" seems familiar. I believe he was one of Jiraiya's old students. Perhaps you could research something about that? Also, I've begun an internship under Konoha's Intelligence Sector. I know I can learn more from them. _

_ Try not to cause too much trouble. _

He frowned after reading the note. He wasn't too bothered by the entire Yahiko situation, as he was sure that he could dig up that information somewhere—probably in the Amegakure Archives. What Sasori was concerned about was the way Sakura was throwing herself into work instead of enjoying her restarted life.

When he first met her, she was barely fifteen with determination in her eyes and optimism pumping through her veins. She was so lively and naive that he would scoff at how she viewed the world with bright, shining hope. Now, there was none of that. When Sasori saw her for the first time in this timeline, she looked like she had given up. 

Sakura told him how she threw herself in front of Naruto and Sasuke so that they would become the great shinobi she knew they'd be one day. What would stop her from doing the same thing the second time around?

He shook his head and sighed.

She needed to be the kid she was and remember that history had yet to write itself.

But for now, he supposed he could push through with his research on Yahiko. Sasori had to be extremely cautious, though. He was starting to draw too much attention.

::

The mornings were hers to do whatever she pleased. At five o'clock pm every weekday, she would report to the T&I building for three hours before she was allowed to go home. Once she entered the Academy, she would only be there Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Sakura couldn't complain with the schedule as it worked well with what she already had going.

Most of her mornings were spent at Training Ground 44, and her early afternoons were dedicated to hanging out with Naruto, sometimes Chouji. On Saturdays, she would go grocery shopping with her mother and help her cook dinner in the afternoon. On Sundays, she'd either train some more or do chores around the house before Kizashi would whip up a big Sunday night dinner.

"How's your internship with Morino-san, sweetheart?" Mebuki asked during one of their calm Sunday dinners.

"Fine. Morino-san said he wants me to focus on tactical and strategic in-tel-li-gience," she answered, now quite used to the way she pronounced her larger words,."I'm pretty much just studying now."

Sakura took a bite of rice as she noticed the way her parents exchanged glances. She sighed inwardly—that was the look she'd see before she'd receive some sort of lecture. Her father cleared his throat and leaned forward on the table.

"So, Sakura-chan, what have you been doing when we're at work? You must be really bored being all alone at home," Kizashi said. Sakura finished chewing her food, hands tightening around her chopsticks. They knew.

"... I..."

She could lie, but that would just make her case worse, wouldn't it? Then again, if she told them what she really did outside the apartment, she could get into even more trouble. Her eyes suddenly grew wide as she considered her train of thought. She was treating her parents like an obstacle.

"... I train after you leave for work," she admitted with a sigh, "and I leave a clone in my place so I don't get in trouble. After I train, I play with Naruto. I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

Sakura braced herself for the berating or the yelling that was sure to follow from her confession. Instead, she was gathered up from her seat and brought into a tight hug by both her mother and her father. She blinked.

"Um?"

"Oh, sweetheart..." Mebuki murmured sadly. "Why did you have to grow up so fast?"

Sakura didn't reply, simply melting in their embrace.

::

Sakura hissed at a total of five people today. A new record.

Her and Naruto were sitting in the sandbox trying to make castles. The playground was empty, as per usual, but they didn't mind. Naruto was just glad that there was someone he could spend his time with and he didn't care about other people anymore as long as he had his 'Sakura-chan'. Oh—and Chouji too!

But Chouji couldn't come by today, saying that he promised to go somewhere with this one kid named Shikamaru.

Naruto happily hummed to himself as he patted the sides of his castle to make it stand upright. Sakura wasn't doing that much, simply building castles just like he was but without all the struggle. He started to whine. "Sakura-chaaaaan! How are you getting your castles to look like that?"

It wasn't like she was going to tell him she was using her chakra.

They played for about an hour or so until Sakura felt a chakra signature slowly approaching her location. It was small like a child's, but more developed in a shinobi's sense. But aside from that, she could recognize that specific one anywhere. When that person came up to the sandbox, Naruto sneered.

"Oh great! What d'ya want now, asshole?!"

Sakura jabbed him in the stomach. "Language, Naruto," she chided. She looked up at Sasuke. "So? What is it?"

Sasuke pouted with his hands clasped behind his back. He kept his eyes down as he kicked at pebble on the ground. "I... I'm sorry. For yest'rday," he apologized, puffing out his cheeks. "I was being a meanie and... uh... yeah."

Sakura wanted to laugh at how cute that apology sounded, but managed to keep it from bubbling out of her throat. Naruto blinked owlishly for a few seconds before stubbornly turning back to his sand castle. Nobody had apologized to him before and he never thought he'd be receiving one anytime soon. Especially from him. Sakura gestured to the sandbox.

"You wanna play with us?"

Sasuke brightened up.

::

Mikoto was prepping dinner when her mind wandered back to the strange little girl she met those few weeks ago. She herself was a jounin before she retired and had children, so she knew what was normal and what wasn't in the shinobi community. That girl, whoever she was, definitely belonged to the latter. The girl was able to catch every single one of her books and walk away without making the slightest sound.

It shouldn't have been possible. Mikoto glanced at the clock, frowning at the time. It was 4:30 and her youngest son still hadn't come home. Fugaku would be home late because of extra paperwork and Itachi wasn't due back to Konoha for another few days. She untied her apron and hung it up before walking to the front door and slipping on her shoes.

She walked out of the house, intent on looking for Sasuke no matter how long it took. Luckily, it didn't take too long. Mikoto's heart warmed as she saw her son laughing and smiling with kids his own age. One of them was the Kyuubi boy, she noted a little nervously, but he looked just as happy as Sasuke so she decided to leave it be. And the other child...

It was her. The strange one.

Mikoto stared at the girl, inspecting her thoroughly. At first glance, she looked like any other kid one would see in the village. But the more she observed her, the more she noticed the beginning of defining muscles in her arms. And when Mikoto saw the flicker of green that flashed in her direction, she knew that the girl could sense chakra as well.

Who was she?

Suddenly, the tokubetsu jounin Mikoto recognized as Shiranui Genma came up to the three children. He grinned, raised a hand in greeting, and exchanged a couple of words with them. The girl soon stood, waved goodbye to the two boys, and walked down the street with Genma at her side. Mikoto straightened.

That was certainly something she wasn't expecting..

::

"Heya, Sasuke-chan!!"

"Ugh."

Sasuke lumbered past an opened-armed Obito. He wilted when the boy passed him and went up the stairs. Why did he have to be like that? They were cousins! With slumped shoulders, he trudged down the hall and sat at the kitchen counter. Mikoto smiled.

"No luck?"

"I don't understand!" he pouted, "Why does Sasuke-chan hate me? I didn't do anything!"

For some odd reason, ever since Sasuke was a baby he hated one person and one person only-- his very own cousin Uchiha Obito. When he was six months old, Sasuke's favorite teething toy had been Obito's arm. When he was one year old, he threw up on only Obito. And when he would cry, Obito getting hurt in any shape or form would always cheer him up. No one knew why, and the only one who had a problem with it was the one being hated on.

"There's always something, right?" Mikoto grinned, "Besides, I don't think you have to try as hard to befriend him anymore. It seems that Sasuke-kun made some friends outside the clan."

Obito's eyebrows raised. "Really? Who?"

"One of them is the Uzumaki boy and the other is this... odd... girl. I have no clue who she is. She has pink hair—"

"—green eyes, about the same age as Sasuke-chan, and is way too mature for a kid?" he guessed. The matriarch slowly nodded, dark eyes brimming with interest. "Yeah, that's Haruno Sakura. I met her not too long ago. She's being brought into the Intelligence sector under Genma and Morino-san."

She frowned.

"I really don't like it," he continued. "She's starting out younger than Itachi-chan and Kakashi ever did. I know how bad Kakashi got once he got into ANBU and Itachi-chan's well on his way there, but... I just don't want her to end up like them, you know? I'm tryin' to get Kakashi out of his shell and Itachi-chan just loves to piss me the hell off. What if she ends up like that? What'll happen then?"

Mikoto looked down worriedly. She could very well see the source of Obito's worries. Prodigies that were like both her eldest son and Hatake Kakashi were rare and talented, yes, but they were the worst kind. They always grew up to be reclusive and would risk their lives day to day for the cause they believed in. Prodigies like that had the best physical form and were more intelligent than the most advanced shinobi, but their mental state was unstable. Uncomfortably so.

"... It's her choice, isn't it?" she asked. Obito sighed.

"Yeah."

"Then we shouldn't worry. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke won't let her get that far, ne?"

He really hoped so.

::

Edited 1/29/18   
  


 


	11. Academy

Hiruzen leaned back in his seat with a small smile on his face as he took a puff of his pipe. Naruto babbled on and on about his day. He was glad that the boy looked more happy recently. Though he did notice that Naruto always seemed to mention a "Haruno Sakura-chan" over and over, and even more recently, his stories began to include an "Uchiwa Sasuke".

"Oh? And how did you meet Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto's face brightened. "It was the bestest, jiji! Firs' I was at the park on the swings 'cuz I had nothin' else to do, right? Then Sasuke came up and said he better-er on the swings than I was 'cuz he was an Uchiwa! 'Course I told him he was a bastard and all—"

Hiruzen frowned at the boy's language.

"—but then Sakura-chan came and told him off! Sasuke got real pissed and tried ta' deck her but then BAM! Sakura-chan threw him on the ground and scared him off! She was sooooo cool, dattebayo!! But he came back the next day and said he was sorry for bein' a meanie." After his explanation, Naruto glanced over at the clock. He panicked. "AHHH! I'mma be late! I'mma be late!!!" he exclaimed. He fell off the chair.

"Late for...?"

"Studyin'! I told Sakura-chan and Sasuke we'd study for the 'cademy at my place and I'm gonna be late!! Later, jiji!"

Naruto ran out of the office, and the Sandaime took another long drag before smiling. He knew where Naruto lived and was greatly displeased at the fact, but his hands were tied on the matter. As much as he wanted to give that boy a loving adoptive family, he couldn't because of the sheer fact that no one wanted to house him and that child services only allowed for him to live in the least costly place possible—the Akasen.

If Naruto had been able to make friends and show them where he lived and that they _haven't_ run off, Hiruzen knew the boy was in good hands. He didn't have to worry that much anymore. His friends, though, raised some concern.

Fugaku would more than likely accept Naruto being friends with his youngest son, but that didn't mean that the rest of the clan could simply accept that. Then there was that Haruno Sakura. He had never heard the name before, but he felt that he should have. If she had been able to take down someone in the blink of an eye, a shinobi should have noticed that talent by now. And if there was a shinobi who did, who was it?

Hiruzen rolled his shoulders before turning his attention back to his paperwork. The one on the top of the pile was the T&I monthly report. He read through the normally monotonous writing, but towards the end of it, saw an unusual entry.

**... Haruno Sakura has been placed into the system. Though she has yet to begin the first year of the Academy, she will start an altered internship under the care of Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma. Parental permission had been granted. This will include...**

Well. It seemed that he found his answer.

::

Sasuke was a little nervous when Sakura dragged him through the sides of the Akasen. He often passed by the entrance of this place, but his mother always told him never to step foot in the district. There were lots of bad people here, he recalled his mother saying, a lot of them didn't like children and wouldn't hesitate to try and hurt one. If that was true...

"Sakura, why does Naruto live here?" he whispered as he grabbed onto her shirt. "Kaa-san says it's bad."

She grimaced. "Because social services don't like him," she replied bitterly. She vowed that she'd get Naruto out of this place one day. It didn't matter what she had to do—Naruto wasn't living in this district for the rest of his childhood. They soon made it to the back of Magenta where she saw Mari-san in her usual place by the stairs, a cigarette between her lips. She silently waved at the two kids who walked up the stairs.

"Wh-Who was that?" Sasuke murmured as his cheeks went red.

"Naruto's landlord, Mari-san," she said, smiling at the look on his face. "Why? You like her or something?"

"What?! N-No way, girls are gross!!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

"W-Well I mean... other girls, but uh, not you?"

She let a small chuckle slip past her lips before punching him in the shoulder. He whined something about her punching him so hard all the time. She paid no mind to it as she leaned back against the railing. Naruto wasn't back yet, but she could feel his chakra signature weaving through the streets near the apartment. Sasuke looked at her.

"Aren't you gonna knock?"

"He's not back."

"Huh? How do you—"

"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I WAS TALKIN' TA' JIJI!!" Naruto came stumbling up the stairs, tripping on the last one up and face-planting on the ledge. He got up like nothing happened and grinned at the two standing at his front door. "Now we can study, 'ttebayo!!"

::

"Can we stop studyin'? Please?" Naruto groaned. He was splayed across his floor with numerous books strewn around him and his face buried in scrolls. Sakura lowered the paper she was writing on, an assignment from Ibiki, and raised an eyebrow.

"It's been fifteen minutes."

"Well, it felt like an hour, 'ttebayo!"

"What? Can't read?" Sasuke asked. Naruto's head shot up out of the papers, not minding the imprints of ink that covered his cheeks.

"'Course I can read, bastard—"

"Language."

"—sorry, and I just don't like ta' do it!" he snarled. Sakura looked back down at her work as the two started up their usual banter. The paper were questions on everything she knew about seals and such, but she wasn't sure about what to put and what not to put. She knew Ibiki had gone to her apartment to ask her parents permission, but did he see all the seals underneath her bed? Did her mother even know about those? Probably.

So filling it out with all the correct answers it was.

Naruto pulled himself out of the pile of study material and walked into the hallway. "I'm gonna pee!"

"Gross, you didn't need to say that out loud!" Sasuke said. The blonde stuck his tongue out at him before disappearing from view. After a short while, Sasuke reached over and tugged on Sakura's shirt sleeve.

"Ne, Sakura..."

She raised her eyes. "Hm?”

He glanced around the small apartment. "Why's Naruto allowed to live here? Where's his mom and dad? Doesn't he got any? And why's there seals on the windows? I saw nii-san make these once, but he's already a real shinobi," he said. Sakura tucked her pencil behind her ear.

"Naruto's an orphan," she replied. He cocked his head.

"What's that?"

"Means his parents are gone," she explained. His eyes went wide. "But don't say stuff about it, okay?"

Sasuke nodded mutely and went back to his studying, luckily not pushing on about the seals. This timeline unfortunately hadn't spared Minato's and Kushina's lives like she wished it would have. She wanted Naruto to have the childhood he deserved, especially without the hostility of some of these damned villagers. She even already had the goal of trying to find someone to take Naruto in.

But for now, there was the Academy.

And she hoped that the three of them attending there would be for the best.

::

But it wasn't. Of course it wasn't. It had had to be because of their _goddamn shitty sensei_.

The desks were set up in rows of three with four tables in each of the three sections. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were sat in the first row on the right side, Chouji sitting directly behind them with his friend Shikamaru. It was the second week of school and they had gotten back their first tests. Sasuke received a 95%, Sakura a 100%, and Naruto...

A 27%?!

When Sakura saw this, she took the paper from his hands and scanned through his answers with a medic's eye. The more she read, the angrier she got. His answers were correct. Most of them. But the teacher had marked them off saying that he 'didn't explain enough' or he 'spelled something wrong' or something 'wasn't legible'.

Half the class had horrible handwriting because they were six. Years. Old. Their teacher's hostility towards Naruto was painfully obvious and was doing everything possible to flunk him out of the class.

"Hey, you shoulda got a B on that," Chouji said.

"Yeah, what happened?" Sasuke frowned, leaning over Sakura's shoulder to glare at the paper. "Why did sensei mark you down on two? Same for five, six, and eight..."

"... It's fine. I don't mind," Naruto mumbled. He didn't know why the adults hated him so much but he was used to it. He didn't want anyone else to worry about it. He reached over to the get the paper back from Sakura when she slammed her fists on the desk and stood up from her seat.

"WHAT THE HELL GIVES?!" she yelled. She had kept quiet for Naruto's sake, but this was just crossing the line. He was going to fail if this became a normal occurrence. The whole class went silent as the teacher turned around with his eyebrows reaching his hairline.

"Sakura!"

"And you call yourself a teacher!" she accused. "Is this how you're gonna grade his work?! Like it's supposed to be ANBU level?! I don't know what's with all you people and hating Naruto for no apparent reason, but it's crossing the line when you make him start to fail!"

Sasuke openly gaped at her and Naruto pulled at her arm.

"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed, "Sit down! S'okay! Really!"

But she didn't relent. She bared her teeth at the teacher, glaring at him so intensely that he might as well have burst into flames. He walked over to her and crossed his arms.

"Sakura, I'm going to need you to calm down—"

"No! I won't!" she snarled, shoving the paper in his face, "I've had to deal with your **_shit_** for two weeks straight and I'm **_fucking_** done!"

The entire class gasped in shock. She yelled at the teacher _and_ said a bad word. Their sensei went red in the face.

"Detention!" he snapped. Sasuke stood up.

"You can't give 'er detention like that! She's right and you shoulda been more fair to Naruto!" he growled. The teacher's face contorted into a haughty sneer.

"You can join her in detention as well, Sasuke."

The boy plopped back down into his seat with an angry huff. Then came the unexpected. Shikamaru had woken up the moment Sakura opened her mouth to defend her friend and knew perfectly well which direction this all was headed. But what he hadn't accounted for was the moment when Chouji took a stand as well, regarding the teacher nervously but defiantly.

Shikamaru straightened up in his seat.

"Naruto gotta B. Not an F," Chouji said. He flinched when his sensei's eyes flickered up to him and narrowed distastefully.

"Then detention for you too," he hissed. Chouji quickly sat back down and twiddled his fingers under the desk, not seeing how Shikamaru stared at him in disbelief. The teacher cast a peeved eye to the other students. "Anyone else?"

Nothing. He nodded in disgusting approval. "Good."

::

Edited 1/29/18

 


	12. Monster

Sakura fumed silently in her seat, Sasuke to her right and Chouji to her left. The bell had rung ten minutes ago and she had just finished convincing Naruto to go home to rest a while, also assuring him that it wasn't even close to his fault that his friends had ended up with detention. He reluctantly did end up leaving while vowing to stay outside the Academy until their sensei let them leave.

He stood in front of them, her more so than the other two, and scowled down at them. Sasuke was glaring to the side at the door while Chouji scooted closer to Sakura with his hands gripping his pants and his eyes trained to the ground. Sakura kept her chin jutted out and meeting his irritate gaze with her stone cold one.

"You three had created a huge disruption today. And that's unacceptable," he said. "Sasuke, Chouji, you'll be staying her for another hour."

Not a word.

"And you, Sakura..." He placed his palms on the desktop and leaned forward. "For yelling at a teacher, showing blatant disrespect, _and_ cussing, we'll be having a parent teacher conference tomorrow on Saturday," he concluded. Sakura shrugged.

"Cool," she replied with her eyes still locked on his. They had darkened a considerable amount and flashed with a promise of death. A shiver lazily curled up his spine as he coughed and produced a set of packets.

"Now I can't just let you sit here and do nothing. You'll be working on these practice problems the entire hour. You may leave at 4:15."

He passed out the work then sat on his desk to observe them keenly. Sakura stared at him for a moment longer before picking up her pencil and starting the work. Simple, as always. And it gave her enough time to think about her next set of plans

::

Naruto sat on the swing outside of the Academy, pushing himself back and forth as he looked at the door guiltily. Sakura didn't have to stand up for him like that. He knew she was one of the best friends he ever had, besides Mari-san, and much more protective than he ever thought she'd be. But... But she didn't have to stand up for him. Sasuke didn't. Chouji _really_ didn't.

He felt even guiltier when he couldn't stop a warm feeling from pooling into his chest. It was nice to know that someone cared about him enough to stand against an authority. Naruto wilted.

Why did they have to care so much?

::

Shikamaru stepped into his house with an abnormally concentrated expression. His father was sitting at the dinner table with Chouza and Inoichi who were sharing a beer and probably talking about some stories about work. Shikaku noticed his son's entrance and waved him over.

"Welcome home. Chouji-kun's not with you?" he asked. His eyebrow raised when Shikamaru's face deepened in seriousness.

"He got detention," he said.

"Detention?" Inoichi exclaimed. " _Chouji_ -kun? What did he do?"

Chouza leaned forward curiously. His son wasn't even close to being a troublemaker. Chouji was far too shy and self-conscious to speak up about anything, much less do something that would land him on the bad side of a teacher.

"He and two others defended Naruto. Sensei graded his test really hard and gave him an F when he shoulda gotta B."

Chouza blinked. He was aware that his son had become good friends with the boy, but he never imagined that they'd be good enough friends for Chouji to move from his comfort zone. "Who were the other two?"

"Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura? I think that's their names. I was sleepin' until Sakura yelled at him and said the f-word. Troublesome." Shikamaru stared at the orange in his hands, frowning when it reminded him of the boy who Chouji stood up for. "I dunno why the grown-ups hate Naruto so much. He's loud a lot, but he's not bad. He wouldn't do something wrong," he mumbled. He retreated to his room, not seeing the clan head's surprised faces.

"An Uchiha stood up for him too? And Fugaku's son, nonetheless," Inoichi whistled. Shikaku stared at the darkened glass of his bottle.

"The girl... Haruno Sakura," he mentioned. "I met her about a few months ago in the T&I building in the basement. As far as I've heard, Ibiki and Genma had taken her in. I don't know how capable she is, but she must be at least chuunin level."

"The pink-haired one?"

"Yeah. Her."

Inoichi reclined in his seat. Before the Academy term started, he saw her pass his office nearly everyday. He didn't think too much of it until he was told she was here as a student. A child hadn't been trained in that sector all the years he'd been a part of it, and he didn't think they'd start now.

_'Especially with a girl Ino's age.'_

::

The teacher collected their worksheets the second the clock struck 4:15 and sent them on their way. Except for Sakura. He asked her to stay after a little longer. With a slight glare from Sasuke, he and Chouji left the room to meet with Naruto and wait for her to come out. Sakura crossed her arms as her sensei motioned her to stand in front of his desk. He shifted in his seat and laced his fingers together.

"I get that you've gotten protective over Naruto, but maybe it would be best if you would reconsider," he said. Her finger twitched. "Nothing good comes out of that... boy. You'd be much safer if you just stay away from him. He's a waste of time."

How prideful he must have felt by thinking he was doing the right thing. But how frightful he must've become when the atmosphere dampened with hostility. Sakura's entire being filled with a calm rage as she regarded the man like he was an insignificant cockroach.

"Naruto's the least of your worries, _sir_." She bared her teeth. "Yell at me all you want, give me all the work in the entire world, and give detention every day for the whole year, I don't care." Her eyes took form of a monster's. "As long as I'm around, I'm not gonna let anything happen to him. It doesn't matter what I have to say or what I have to do, but if something happens to him..."

Fear scratched at his lungs.

"... You're gonna see who the _real_ demon is."

The air cleared with that and she took her leave. The teacher watched her go, not able to stop his hands from shaking. She wasn't normal, and now he knew that for a fact. Her intelligence was off the charts, her physical prowess was far higher than any six year old should be, and he didn't think there was anything he could do to curb that attitude of hers. He looked out the classroom window to see Sakura meet up with the boys who waited for her.

Green flickered in his direction, and there was only one thing that came to mind.

Dangerous.

::

"Y-You're back!"

In the backdrop of a setting sun and the sound of a gently running river, Gaara sat on the bank with his puppet clutched closely to his chest. Sasori sat down beside him with a relaxed sigh as he stretched out his legs in front of him. It's been some time since he'd gone to visit the boy-- a few months, at least.

"I've had some spare time, so I decided to drop by for a visit," he said. He patted Gaara's head lightly, "How are things?"

The boy deflated. He tucked his knees closer to him and stared down at the puppet in his hands. He never showed it to anyone in fear of them taking it away. Komushi was the only one who knew only because he was there the day it was given to him. "Tou-sama still doesn't like me," he mumbled, "but I got Yashamaru. I... I hurt him sometimes, but he's still there. More than tou-sama. I like him, but no one else likes me, except him and Kaa-san."

Kaa-san. Sasori could assume the mother he was referring to the tailed beast locked inside him. Then there was Yashamaru-- a close associate of the Kazekage, if he wasn't mistaken. And if memory served him true, he also died at the hands of the boy's Ichibi.

Perhaps he could prevent that.

"Just because your father isn't nice to you doesn't mean he doesn't love you," Sasori said, picking his words out carefully. "It might be difficult for him because of who he thinks you are, not who you really are."

Gaara's shoulders dropped as he looked up at Sasori. "Then who am I, Hiruko?" he asked. The older man vaguely remembered the alias he gave as he patted the boy's head again, a light smile on his face.

"No one else but you. Keep that in mind."

The boy turned his attention to the river. It was one of the only ones near Sunagakure and contrasted greatly with the arid topography of the country. He came here all the time to clear his mind and hopefully be without Kaa-san for a little bit. It was lonely, yeah, but it calmed him down enough to the point where he could continuously tell himself to lower his incidents back at home.

"But—But what if I can't?"

"I believe in you," Sasori said.

Gaara stared at the older man. He was amazed in the faith this man placed in him despite this being only their second meeting. Carefully, he leaned into Sasori's arm and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't move away.

"You... You're gonna leave soon, aren't you?"

"Mm."

"But then you'll come back a-again, right?"

"I will..."

The stars twinkled overhead.

"...I promise."

::

Gaara sat on the ledge of the rooftop of his father's building as he stared down at his hands. After talking with Hiruko, he felt much happier. Hiruko was his second real friend who was so open with him and didn't look at him like he was a monster.

But those things he said... were they true? Did his father really love him?

If his father loved him, why did he look at him with the same eyes as everyone else? Like he wasn't wanted?

Suddenly, sand shot up behind him and curled into a shield to block the projectiles launched in his direction. Gaara whipped around to see a shinobi poised in an offensive position, kunai hovering in the air before them. His eyes widened.

_'Why...'_

The boy clenched his teeth and stepped down from the ledge.

_'Why is it always me?!'_

The shinobi sent even more kunai towards him-- a futile attempt. The shield furthered its reach and blocked Gaara's front.

_'What did I ever do to deserve this?!'_

With an open palm, his hand shot upwards. Sand wrapped around the enemy like an angry serpent and dragged him up above ground. They would've been crushed so easily if Gaara hadn't paused his actions. The title of _Monster_ ran through his head, angering him. Lifting a rage he wouldn't think to contain. But Hiruko's easy, knowing voice flowed through those thoughts and slowly crumbled them to bits and pieces.

He was human.

_Human._

The sand diffused abruptly and retreated back to where it came from, dropping the shinobi and leaving them unharmed. Gaara stepped forward reluctantly, but his eyes had hardened and his lips were pressed in a thin line.

"I'm not a monster," he murmured. The shinobi, even masked, seemed to be confused for a few brief moments before they stood up.

"You are," the stranger said. Gaara froze. He knew that voice. "Because of that, your kaa-san never loved you, and in turn, you killed her. Isn't that what monsters do?" The shinobi tugged the cloth off his face, revealing none other than Yashamaru. Gaara fell to his knees, the feeling of betrayal seeping into his veins. "She named you because you were a self-loving carnage. You're nothing but the filth that killed her—the filth that killed my sister," he hissed.

::

Unbeknownst to Gaara, his heart was breaking with every word he spoke. He regretted the decision of accepting this mission from Rasa. All he wanted was to teach his nephew what it meant to feel pain and love, but now he could see that he was going too far. He loved Gaara to death, and he couldn't bear to have any more orchestrated attacks against him.

The boy's fists clenched as the sand swirled again. Yashamaru waited for another attack, but was thoroughly surprised when the grains dropped again.

"No."

Would he have to do it? He had never seen Gaara show such restraint before, much less keep his sand at bay. This would be one last test. To help the boy grow and understand. So he zipped open his flak jacket, exposing numerous explosive tags stuck against his torso.

"If that's how it's going to be..."

The sand rose up again and shot towards him as his hand came up and formed a seal.

"... then please die."

" _YASHAMARU!_ "

There was a loud explosion before the village went silent once more.

::

**EDITED 1/30/18**


	13. Getting There

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. He wrapped his arms around his friend and pulled her close, like an apology or something of the sort. Sasuke stepped up to her with angrily blazing eyes.

"He didn't say nothing else, did he?" he asked. She shook her head as she patted down Naruto's unruly blonde hair.

"No. He just mentioned the parent teacher conference again," she replied. He let her go, taking on a disgruntled expression as he looked down at the ground. She tousled his hair a little harder and gave him a smile, silently assuring him that he didn't do anything wrong and slung an arm over his shoulders, gesturing to the other two.

"Alright, whose house are we gonna go to first? Because it's getting kinda late and I want to make sure you guys get back okay," Sakura said, instantly earning her protests that she didn't need to fuss over them. "I think we'll go to Sasuke's. It's closer to the Academy. Then we'll go to Chouji's place and drop him off, then I'll take Naruto back."

After receiving murmurs of consent, Sakura ushered them in the direction of the Uchiha compound. There was an ulterior motive behind this route, and she was thankful the three of them weren't sharp enough to be suspicious. She had insisted that they walk each other home many times before so it wasn't too strange that she'd do this. They just had never been to the compound before.

Sakura looked at Sasuke as he started to speak and thought to what Sasori told her. The Uchiha Clan was on good terms with Konoha and Uchiha Itachi was far too pacifistic to be of any use to the Akatsuki.

And she wanted to see that for herself.

::

Fugaku heard rumors on a daily basis and, contrary to popular belief, quite enjoyed listening to them. He learned things about people he never heard of and little secrets from other members of the clan, something catching wind of drama and scandals within the ranks. He was drinking his afternoon tea out in the backyard when a few Academy students passed the front of the main house.

"... didn't think Sasuke would get detention."

"Right? Like he'd stand up for that freak."

"Chouji did too."

"Sakura started it. Man, she's scary!"

He placed his cup down on the low table to his side and stared down at the koi pond before him. Mikoto informed him of his youngest son's new group of friends—the village pariah and an odd girl who was to grow under Ibiki's tutelage, according to Obito. Admittedly, he was more curious about her and her potential more than anything else.

He stood up as he picked up his tea and teapot and walked into the house. It was empty. His wife had probably gone to visit another family in the compound and his eldest was out on a month long mission—his first one since becoming a jounin. Eleven years old and already someone of such high status... He was proud. Of course he was. But he couldn't help but think that Itachi was just a little  _too_ young to be in such a position. As the pride of the Uchiha, he had to be a powerful symbol of Konohagakure.

Though...

... A child is just a child in the end.

Fugaku raised his head when the door clicked open and a flood of voices washed in. He straightened himself before quietly pacing towards them. He was met with the sight of his son, first and foremost, with the widest smile he had seen in a long time.

"That's not fair, Sasuke!" the little blonde boy growled. "Rematch! I'll even kick this stupid rock in ya' head!"

"Dobe."

"Wha—?! Sakura-chan! I'mma punch him!"

Sasuke laughed then looked ahead of him. The boy's face dropped as he quickly met his father's gaze and tried to make a neutral face. "O-Otou-sama," he said. "Sorry I'm late, sir... I won't be next time."

Fugaku inclined his head and moved his eyes to the three standing behind him. The other two boys bowed their heads in fear, but the girl reflected a sheen of coldness in those green irises. He tucked that bit of information away for later. "Are these your friends?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded and half turned to introduce them. "Yessir. Uzumaki Naruto, Akimichi Chouji, and Haruno Sakura."

Naruto forced out a timid hello while Chouji stuttered out a greeting that one could barely hear. Sakura was the only one to keep her calm. She lifted her chin, pridefully but respectfully, and put on a child-like smile that completely covered her whole demeanor before it. Fugaku raised an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet you too, Uchiha-sama."

There was no fear in her voice, nor a trace of the jaded individual he was sure he saw moments before. Sasuke bid her friends goodbye and Fugaku watched them go with a keen eye. He'd have to keep a closer eye on them from now on.

::

"Oh, aren't you two just _darlings_!"

"K-Kaa-chan!"

Akimichi Chiharu, Chouji's exuberant mother, bent over both Naruto and Sakura to pinch their cheeks and tell them how cute they were. Naruto flushed positively red with embarrassment as he tried to find some cover behind his pink-haired friend.

"Uh, k-kaa-chan! They gotta... um... gotta go real s-soon so they can't stay long!" Chouji exclaimed. Naruto threw him a look of utter gratitude, his cheek squished against Sakura's shoulder. Chiharu pouted and drew back.

"Alright, Chouji-kun. Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, come by anytime you like. We'd love to have you over!"

::

"Final stop."

"Thanks for walkin' me, Sakura-chan."

They stood in front of Naruto's apartment. The sun was still up, but was starting its move downwards this Friday evening. Naruto fished his key out of his pocket and opened his door, twisting around to give Sakura one last apologetic look.

"About what ya' said ta' sensei..."

"Don't worry about it, okay? You're more than worth it."

Naruto pursed his lips and nodded mutely. She told him goodnight and began her trek to the T&I building. Still, she needed to find someone for him. Civilians were off the list. There were a few good ones out there, but none were strong enough to protect him if something went awry. In turn, there were barely any shinobi sympathetic to Naruto's cause to be accepting enough to take him in.

But she had to keep looking no matter what. He  _was_ going to get out of there before it came time for them to graduate the Academy, and if she had to sneak into the Hokage's office and dig around for candidates, she would.

Sakura walked through the glass doors she was so accustomed to, noting that the reception desk was empty. She then took the already memorized route to Ibiki's office.

"You're late."

"Mhm."

She hopped onto the couch to the left of his desk, sprawling out on the pillow-less leather like a cat. Genma was gone on a mission and would stay absent for the next couple of weeks. Usually, he'd be the one to accompany her to the training grounds to help her improve on her taijutsu and the use of her wrist blades. Ibiki would stick to the intelligence portion of her internship and teach her more advanced algorithms and strategies, sometimes things on seals.

Sakura pulled out a pink sheet from her pocket and tossed it on his desk. He held it open with one hand and scanned through it casually.

"Detention already? I'm not surprised," he said. His eyes trailed down to the bottom, "and a parent teacher conference tomorrow... Kid, I  _will_  make you run a hundred laps around Konoha if it's because of some dumbass reason."

She scoffed. "It was all in good faith, old man."

"Cheeky. Do these warm-ups and tell me what happened."

Ibiki handed her a clipboard without moving his eyes from the pink sheet. She took the pencil that was linked to the clasp and recounted her story, unconcerned by how rude or irritated she probably sounded. Sakura knew he wasn't a stickler for those types of things. When she finished, he took up a thoughtful look. "Aren't your parents out of town?"

"At the border to visit some friends. Won't be back 'till the beginning of next month."

"... Huh."

::

Yashamaru blearily pried his eyes open, feeling a dulled pain ripple through his body. He moved his eyes to the side and saw an IV drip hooked up to his arm.

_'Where am I?'_

It took him a few moments of staring at the ceiling to realize that he was in the hospital and nowhere near being on the brink of life and death. Everything came rushing up to him in that moment, making him remember what he'd done. The mission. The explosives. Gaara.

"He's fine."

The Kazekage was leaned against the window with his arms crossed and his eyes closed in a serene-like manner.

"Rasa-sama...?"

"A part of the building blew off from the explosion, but no one was killed. Apparently, they were taken off your body and projected upwards to divert the intensity of the blast, ultimately sparing your life. Gaara was there but ran off and locked himself in his room once reinforcements came," Rasa informed. He was 100% sure his son wouldn't be capable of holding his own against psychological attacks like Yashamaru had inflicted, but he begrudgingly admitted that he was impressed.

The demon didn't make its appearance, thus assuring that Suna could now use him as a weapon if they wished.

Yashamaru shifted himself to an upright position. "May I see Gaara-sama?"

"That wouldn't be the ideal move at the moment. He may not have released his monster, but his emotional state is fragile. It will be a while until he'll talk with anyone," he said. Yashamaru clamped his mouth shut and looked down at his sheets.

He was supposed to die and fulfill his mission.

When did Gaara-sama grow enough to save his life...?

Rasa moved to leave the room through the window, unaware of the flash of red and black in the midst of the sandstorm that arose the previous hour.

::

Sakura angled her clipboard to shield her face from Ibiki's view when she felt something crawling on the back of her shirt. A scorpion crawled over her shoulder and down her arm to place a small scrap of paper in her fingers. She wrote 'Thank you, Yori-san' on her worksheet before he went back down behind her and disappeared in the cover of her body. After unraveling it with her thumb and forefinger, she read the single line Sasori presented.

_ The Godaime Kazekage will be fine. _

::

**EDITED 1/30/18**


	14. Conference

He honestly didn't know what to make of this situation. All he wanted was to speak to Sakura's parents about her recent behavior,  _not be stared down by a man he knew could kill him in the most terrifying ways possible._

Morino Ibiki, clothed in his trench coat and all, sat against the table closest to the teacher's desk in the painfully empty classroom. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face stayed wholly unamused at the ordeal. Sakura was in the chair behind and to his right, seeming bored and a tad bit irritated.

"Tou-san and kaa-san aren't in Konoha right now. So he's here instead," she supplied.

"Kizashi-san and Mebuki-san are civilian citizens and not too well versed in shinobi activities. They've entrusted me to manage her education, as I'm the overseer of her studies," Ibiki said. The teacher gulped and sorted some papers. That explained a lot, actually. Her smarts, intimidation, and rage... Maybe being under the head torturer didn't make her into how she was now, but it sure gave more insight to her background.

"I-I see... well, um, I suppose I'll get right to the point, then. Sakura does exceedingly well in all aspects of Academy, curriculum, though the only problems are her disruptions in class, especially when it comes to Naruto."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Nothing's wrong with him."

The teacher sighed. "Sakura—"

He snapped his mouth shut when Ibiki reached over and clonked her at the back of the head. She rubbed at her pink hair and mustered up the audacity to glare at him.

"What the hell, old man?!"

"You've got that cheek again, and I got enough of that yesterday. Now go and stand out in the hallway. I have a few things to say to your sensei," he said. Sakura grumbled as she hopped off her seat and strode out the door while closing the door behind her. The teacher stared after her for a few moments before some sick feeling dropped in his stomach.

He was alone in a room with one of the most dangerous men in Konoha. He then turned his head to see a pair of black eyes piercing through him.

_'... Shit.'_

::

Sakura patiently waited outside the hallway with a bored glint in her eyes. She appreciated Ibiki coming down in place of her parents, but he really didn't have to. Her plan was to make clones and henge them, though once more, the trouble was saved by this twisted timeline.

Speaking of her parents...

_"Konoha was attacked!"_

_An uproar spread through the medical unit like wildfire, but Sakura kept her mouth uncharacteristically shut as she continued her duties. The war had reached the middle of its fifth year and Sai had just been killed. When told of it, Sakura looked blank-faced despite the despair that surged through her body._

_Hands down, she was hopeless. This wasn't a war any longer, this was a worldwide graveyard and everyone she held dear were dying off one by one._

_It only made her wonder when she'd be next._

_"Haruno-sensei, the casualty list!" a shinobi informed, presenting her with a thick collection of papers. She sat down at her makeshift desk and scanned through the list. She would have to make a distinction between shinobi and civilian to account how much of their forces they'd lost. It was near the end of the stack when she noticed two names that only tacked onto losing Sai._

_Haruno Kizashi_

_Haruno Mebuki_

_Sakura stared at the names a little longer than the rest before highlighting the names in yellow and continued on her task._

A small sigh escaped her lips. Her parents died in their home during the night only because they had the misfortune of living in the assaulted district. The had done nothing wrong, yet suffered the unjust death of an elaborate fire jutsu.

Sakura let the back of her head lean against the wall and stared at the ceiling. She already placed the unsuspecting protection seals around the apartment to keep intruders out as well as put chakra trip wires up that would alert her if anything happened. She wouldn't let them die this time around, she swore. Her parents would get to live to their old age.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway, making her turn her head ever so slightly. Someone came down the hallway dressed in typical ANBU gear with a dog-resembling mask hanging from his waist. He held himself in a highly dignified manner-- like someone who knew how to hold their power and exercised just how dangerous they were on a regular basis.

Not only that, but his chakra seemed unsettling in a troubled sort of manner. It was very tense and dark, something she decided to keep in mind and look up later. His eyes, both black and unnerving, slid over to her for a few seconds before he looked back ahead of him and walked down the hall. Sakura's fingers twitched at their cold, dark blankness and the oblivious offending air he seemed to maintain wherever he went.

She held her tongue.

_'I see that Kakashi's different.'_

::

"You smell really sweet, nya!"

Uchiha Itachi was taking a short break at a dango stand along the route back to Konohagakure. There wasn't anyone else around, and he was waiting for the rest of his team to meet him back here. As he took a bite of the treat, a brown cat appeared in his lap and stared at him with big green eyes. Itachi blinked.

"... Hello."

"Nya! You smell like honey and cantaloupe. I haven't smelt a shinobi like you before. Do you like eating sweet things a lot? 'Cause you really seem like you do," the cat purred. His tail flickered back and forth, brushing against Itachi's arms every now and then.

"I suppose... Are you one of Nekobaa-sama's cats?"

The cat jumped onto Itachi's shoulders and stretched out. "Sometimes."

He returned to the comfort of Itachi's lap and flashed a sharp grin, showing off white pointed teeth that added to his look of mischief.

"My name's Kou, but you call me Kou-chan, nya! Nice to meet ya', 'tachi-chan!"

::

"Singling out Naruto in class?" Ibiki questioned. The teacher scratched the back of his head as he reclined in his chair. Sakura had become very apparent at his bias against that _thing_  and jumped at every moment he would treat him unfairly. She, out of everyone else, had the gall to defend him at all costs.

"I don't believe that monster should become a shinobi. He destroyed Konoha once already, and I won't stand to see it happen again," he replied. Ibiki cracked his neck, eliciting a nervous flinch from the other man. He himself didn't have a positive image of Naruto, but didn't have a negative image of him either. The interrogation and intelligence sectors were less likely to hold it against him because they knew more than anyone that the world wasn't painted black and white, because the nature of their work.

Their points of view many times differed from the others and this was undoubtedly one of them.

"Is that so?" he mused. "And it's just Sakura who calls you out on it?"

"Yes. Though recently, Akimichi Chouji and Uchiha Sasuke have spoken out as well. I would have let it slide considering which families they come from, but they crossed the line after taking up Sakura's example yesterday," he said with irritation. Ibiki couldn't help but feel smug at the other's distaste, but it was washed away with his question.

"Does... Is Sakura aware of him?"

"What makes you say that?"

The teacher flinched again when the interrogator's gaze intensified. He shifted in his chair and diverted his eyes to the side. "I had a short discussion with her after detention, and she implied that she knew about the demon. I don't know if you've disclosed that information with her or..."

"I haven't. I'll bring the topic up with her later," Ibiki inputted, "but there is something you need to understand about Haruno Sakura."

He pushed himself off the student desk and strode to close the distance between them. The teacher moved his chair back as Ibiki placed both hands on the wooden surface and leaned forward, an ominous look in his expression. "You and I both know that she's not an ordinary kid, even more so that she's caught even  _my_  attention. You've only known her for two weeks, but I think you're starting to get an idea of her. She has an attitude that can't be stifled no matter what you do, and she'll stand up for what's right despite the consequences. Give her detention, extra work, tell her to run a million goddamn miles and she'll sure as hell do it if it means doing what she thinks is right. And you know you can't expel her because she's so far at the top of the class that she'll be considered a prodigy."

He straightened and tucked his hands into his baggy pockets. "She's not going to stop. And if you're not willing to change your stance on Naruto, then expect hell every single day."

He walked out of the room, leaving the teacher to finally breathe and think.

When Ibiki stepped out of the room, he found Sakura inspecting her wrist blades. He was aware that the room was not sound proofed whatsoever and that she probably heard that entire conversation. She acknowledged him by sliding the blades back beneath her bandages and looking up.

"Done?"

He grunted. "Turned out to be more fun than I thought. I think I see why you like acting up all the damn time."

"I wouldn't have to act up if he treated Naruto like everyone else," she huffed. Ibiki walked down the hallway with her, donning a small frown quite typical of him. There was no possible way she could've found out about the Kyuubi. The people's lips were sealed and it wasn't a flattering topic to talk about anyways, and if that didn't stop them from talking about it, the Sandaime would.

The question still remained.

Who told her about the demon, and why was she okay with it when most of Konoha wasn't?

"Well, I guess I'll be on my way, old man," she said. They were out at the front of the Academy, the morning sun hanging in the bright blue sky. He looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"You got somewhere to be?"

"Yup. Since Sasuke's with his family and Naruto's with Mari-san, I'm gonna go look for something. That's fine, right?" Sakura asked. Ibiki stared at her for a few moments before sighing and waving her off.

"Get outta here, runt. But be at my office sometime in the late afternoon. We've got some things to talk about. Got it?"

She lazily saluted him and walked down the growing street of people. And he watched after, eventually losing sight of her in the crowds. He'd have to go talk with the Hokage now, unfortunately, and ask permission to disclose information of the Kyuubi attack. Could she be trusted with the information? Probably so. The only goals she had (as far as he could see) were to get stronger and protect her friends.

The task had a simple road ahead and kept her busy most days. He wasn't complaining about that. But... there was something about the motivation behind her cause that wasn't right. Or normal, he'd put it as. She was too young to set herself at such a high standard and was leaning more and more into becoming an elite shinobi, like Hatake or Fugaku's eldest.

He pressed his lips into a grim line.

The resemblance was uncanny. 

::

**EDITED 1/30/18**

 

  
  


 


	15. Buzzing

Deidara was very bright for his age. Creativity wise, at least. he was already making small sculptures and figurines before he began to train as a shinobi, and by the time he graduated the Academy at eight years old, he became the disciple of the Sandaime Tsuchikage.

Sasori kept himself hidden between the masses of thick green bamboo shoots as he observed a training session between Deidara and his sensei. The old man looked exasperated with the detonated ground and plantation around him, but the boy seemed to be pleased with his handiwork.

"I told you to not blow up the entire training grounds!"

"C'mon, it's not that bad, un."

"We used to have nice grass here, boy. A rarity if you haven't noticed. Now they're all up in the bamboo!" He sighed, "I shouldn't have given you those explosive tags..."

He gestured to the forestry that they were enclosed in. Onoki's eyes slowly moved up and caught a patch of black hidden a little ways away. An intruder? Observer? They didn't seem aggressive, but his old age and vast experiences taught him to be extra careful around those types.

"Next is your punishment," he said, glancing back at the little blonde.

"Sensei!"

"Quit that whining. Get to the rock—"

"I don't like that rock, hm! It's big and ugly and—"

"—I know. That's why you're going to balance yourself at the top and meditate."

"But, sensei!"

" _Meditate._ "

Deidara pouted and trudged to the other side of the training grounds to that stupid rock. That unsymmetrical, gaudy, out of place... The Tsuchikage shook his head and placed his hands on his hips. That boy was going to be an excellent member of the  _Bakuha Butai_  one day and it was already showing. Annoyingly, though. Onoki made route to follow after.

::

Sasori drew an amused smile as he watched Deidara stalk off and grumble to himself. Some things never change, do they? He took a silent step back to leave the grounds when what felt like a kunai tip touched the base of his skull. His shoulders slumped.

"Dammit," he muttered.

"Akasuna no Sasori, is it? I've heard that name plenty. You killed the Sandaime Kazekage. He was a good friend of mine, and I didn't appreciate him being taken before his time," a lofty voice hummed. Sasori inclined his head slightly to see Onoki floating there, an arm extended without a care in the world. "So, what are you here for? Reconnaissance? Assassination?"

His eyes trailed down to the unfamiliar cloak.

"Then again, it's possible that you weren't after me."

The younger considered his options. He didn't want to attack or try to escape and cause an international incident, so keeping still was probably his best choice. He relaxed and dropped his guard. "You're right."

Sasori stood up slowly and kept his arms stretched out from his body. His palms were opened to show that he wasn't a threat, something Onoki could never recall a shinobi ever doing in his presence. The man turned around.

"I wasn't here for you," he conceded simply. The Tsuchikage raised an eyebrow. The action was completely unprecedented, though it did match up rather well with the missing-nin's cool and carefree attitude. "I'll be honest. I mean, you're not going to like it, but I'll tell you straight up." Onoki's eyebrow raised even higher as Sasori pointed a finger towards himself. "I'm an Akatsuki. A mercenary business, if you will. We've been looking for future members and keep tabs on the younger ones to see if they'll defect or not. Deidara's one of those on watch," he said. Onoki's hand twitched at the notion.

"You think he's going to betray the village?"

"Smart people tend to do questionable things," he mentioned, immediately thinking to a certain someone. "And people like Deidara? Free-flowing and irritated when they're restricted or forced into whatever it may be. Right? Tell me that I didn't hit it right on the mark."

Onoki let his hand fall and tucked his kunai away with a heavy sigh. There wasn't a single fault in this stranger's words. Deidara, although hot-headed and reckless, was of the intelligent sort among his peers. He knew the things he talked about and never made a decision without considering the outcomes even if he made the wrong choice. He eyed Sasori carefully.

"Then your reason for being here?"

"I don't want him to join the Akatsuki," he admitted. He stood by that belief in its purest sentiment. Deidara was young when he first joined the organization, merely fourteen years old, and was still just a brat. He had a sustainable future ahead of him if he hadn't left and become a terrorist for hire.

Onoki's eyes narrowed considerably. "I find that hard to believe."

"I don't blame you. Trust me or don't trust me, your choice. But I want to make sure that he doesn't go down the same path I did," Sasori said. His arms were still held out and he had on the most blunt face he'd ever given, both in this life and the last. The Tsuchikage was old enough to see who was lying and who was genuine. It was unusual for missing-nin to be the latter.

"Why?"

Why? Because Sakura told him that Deidara came to kill hundreds by bombing villages and medical units. Because he was constrained to a life that caused the Fourth Shinobi World War: seven years of bloodshed that ravaged the land. Because he succumbed to hatred and resentment, bitter about his loss to Itachi and to the position he upheld in the Akatsuki. Because if he left, he'd turn to suicide in attempt to destroy an enemy because he had nothing left to lose.

"Because..." Sasori suddenly looked very, very tired. "... He reminds me of a kid I knew."

::

Shino wasn't expecting much when he walked into the forests near the Academy. All he wanted to do was find some variation of a beetle already in his colony, as it was supposed to be more sensitive to chakra though less inclined to see and smell. They weren't the most practical to use on the battlefield, but they were good to alert the user of anyone nearby.

About halfway into the forest, he saw someone hanging upside down like a sloth on one of the branches. They were slowly crawling towards a hornet's nest hanging precariously at the end. Shino squinted at the person through his darkened glasses, recognizing them almost immediately.

"Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura cast a glance down at him and smiled in greeting before inching a bit closer to the nest. "Oh, hey. Didn't think anyone'd be here. You out to do something too?" she asked. He didn't answer right away and stared at the nest a little longer.

"Those hornet stings dissolve tissue," he said. He was surprised when she nodded in assent and closed even more of the distance between her and the hornets. He was starting to get worried about what might happen next.

"I know. That means I can make a really good poison! If I can get some of the hornets and extract the venom..."

She lowered her voice to a whisper as she edged closer. Shino took a step forward with a slightly raised hand. "The Aburame can't control these bugs. They're very angry all the time and they spray a phre-remone that—"

Sakura yelped when dozens of hornets flew out at her. She pushed herself off the branch and landed on the ground with a quiet thud. She make a hasty retreat out of the forest, grabbing the sleeve of Shino's jacket and tugging him out of the forest with her. His eyes went wide at the sudden movement but kept his mouth shut at the sight of angry hornets heading his way and ran.

Eventually, they dove for cover inside the weapon's shop Sakura frequented most. The man behind the counter looked over with unmasked amusement and flipped to another page of his newspaper as he laughed. "Trouble again, little lady?"

"Nothing too bad, oji-san," she answered. Sakura sprung back onto her feet and helped Shino to his.

"You've even brought a friend along. Need to use the back door?" he asked. He laughed once more at the innocent smile she gave and jabbed a thumb at the doorway behind him, "Go on, go on. And don't cause trouble you can't handle, y'hear?"

"No promises. Thanks for the help!"

Sakura gestured for Shino to follow, both of them walking around the counter they could just barely see over and exiting into a dimmed alleyway. She placed her hands on her hips as she looked from left to right. Right, she decided. It would lead towards the middle-class districts and kept far from the denser forests.

"Sorry for dragging you around like this," she apologized. "I didn't think the hornets would be like that."

Shino shook his head and adjusted his crooked glasses. "It's fine."

"Let me make it up to you."

"You don—"

"Look! A candy stall! Pick what you want, my treat," she exclaimed. That large smile was back on her face as she turned to look at him. Shino stayed quiet for a bit. He never really talked to her before, and he didn't think that would ever change. The only people she'd talk to in class were Sasuke, Chouji, and Naruto, maybe even Hinata on occasion. She was openly friendly with anyone that didn't tease Chouji or Naruto, which weren't a lot of students, and wouldn't stand it if the teacher openly showed his bias. She even stood up in front of the whole class and yelled at him.

But... there was something Shino didn't think was quite right with her. Sakura was nice and all, but maybe she was a little too nice? She was always smiling and stuff, and it made him wonder if she ever got sad. Ever. Shino's eyes trailed through the selection of sweets, his previous thoughts receding to the back of his head.

"... winter melon."

"Okay! One bag of winter melon candy and one bag of dried pineapples," she said, walking up to the vendor. He missed the quick glance she threw to the side. "And a bag of lychee gummies, please."

"Shino and Sakura? What're you guys doing here?"

Shikamaru strolled up to them with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a small pouch at his side. Shino twisted his head to the left.

"Running," he replied. Shikamaru scrunched up his nose. Running took way too much energy and he definitely didn't have the willpower for it. Sakura paced over to them and handed the winter melon candy over to Shino and the lychee to Shikamaru, who took the red bag with surprise.

"Oh. Thanks," he said. It must've been some weird coincidence because he really liked lychee gummies and he couldn't recall ever telling her that. Maybe Chouji told her? As he opened the bag, one of the things he planned on doing popped into his head.

"Hey, Sakura..."

She drew a pineapple into her mouth. "Hm?"

"Chouji told me 'bout what happened at detention. An' why he did it. He says it's 'cause you guys are friends that even beat up the bullies," he began. A thoughtful look formed on his face. "He's not good at making friends 'cause he's shy and doesn't like talking to no one. But I didn't think he'd ever do something like that. Even for Naruto."

Shino silently chewed on his candy while looking between the two of them.

"I just wanna say I'm happy that you're his friend. He smiles more."

Sakura waved her hand and ate another pineapple. "Chouji's really nice. Sasuke and Naruto like him too, so we're still gonna hang out a lot," she assured. He scratched the back of his head, his expression melting into one that was happily relieved. Shino turned his head to look down the street he and Sakura came from and grew alarmed. He shoved his candy into his jacket and lightly pushed the other two in the other direction.

"Shin—?"

"Hornets. Run. Now."

"Wha—?!"

"NOW."

::

_Bakuha Butai_ : Explosion Corps

::

**EDITED 1/30/18**


	16. Management

Shibi didn't think anyone would be in when he got home from the clan meeting. Around this time, Shino would be out finding new species and not be back until sundown. But as soon as he entered his house, he saw two pairs of unfamiliar sandals beside his son's. He stared at them for a few seconds before following the faint hum of voices in the backyard. Though first he approached his charge, the son of the late Aburame Shikuro, who sat curled up with a book near the window.

"Torune, does Shino have classmates over?"

The nine year old looked up. "They ran in soaking wet carrying a jar of killer hornets. Now he's showing them some of his colonies," he replied. Shibi nodded as Torune returned to his book and slid the door open. Outside, he was able to get a better look at the two kids. As far as he knew, Shino didn't hang out with too many others because they tended to think bugs were creepy.

One thing he noticed was that they were wearing some of Shino's old clothes. Soaking wet, Torune had said? It was a good tactic to run away from those hornets, he had to admit. Not his primary course of action, but good nonetheless. The boy he recognized as a Nara, Shikaku's son, maybe? He couldn't remember too well. The girl he didn’t recognize at all, but that was fine and didn't matter as long as they were good to his son.

"So that one's a girl beetle?"

"Yes. This  _kabutomushi_ 'll lay eggs soon then die."

"Eh?! So short!"

Shikamaru and Sakura stared in awe at the horned beetle traipsing along the ground. Shino turned his head at the approach of his father.

"Welcome back, tou-san."

"Shino," Shibi acknowledged, patting the boy's head. "And these are?"

The boy stood up first and offered a slight bow to his elder. "Nara Shikamaru," he introduced. "Nice to meet you."

The girl was second. Shibi watched as she got to her feet with an elegance that matched that of the unbridled wind; smooth and unbending in its most natural state. His eyes narrowed the tiniest fraction as she smiled and introduced herself as any polite little girl would.

"And I'm Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you too," she greeted. The man nodded to the two of them, his eyes lingering on Sakura for a little longer.

"It's a pleasure," he replied.

Hm.

::

Genma took his time walking through the hallways of the Kage Tower. He was the one to give the mission report on his team's behalf and it wouldn't take too long to give it anyways. His month long assignment that was supposed to last the next few weeks was cut incredibly short at the convenience of their target dying of a stroke.

He wasn't complaining in the slightest. Even only being gone for a week, he was already starting to miss the little brat he and Ibiki took under their wings. She was a quick learner, didn't whine about anything, and caused just enough trouble to get him a good laugh in his days. The twerp was really starting to grow on him. A little twisted in the head, but hey, nothing her good ol' sensei couldn't fix, right?

He knocked twice on the door to the office and entered. Genma was surprised to see Ibiki standing in the room with his ever-so-serious frown on his face. Hiruzen waved him in and motioned for the door to be shut.

"You came in at an opportune time, Genma," the Hokage said. "It would be good for you to have an ear in this conversation."

Genma crossed his arms and kept to the side, looking from his boss to his leader. This had to be about what he had been thinking of earlier. The only business he and Ibiki were ever a part of that would be Hokage-level importance was their training of Haruno Sakura. He didn't think there was anything noteworthy, though. Did something happen when he was away? Damn, he always missed the good things.

"... Sakura's capable enough to handle the truth. She acts like his protector already, so she might as well know what she's getting into," Ibiki seemed to continue from a previous point. "From what I've seen, there isn't anything she can't handle. Shiranui can attest to that."

The aforementioned bobbed his head. "Still don't know what we're talking about, but yeah. Kid's got the brains and the brawn."

Hiruzen sighed.

"That may be true, but this isn't your normal piece of information like a passing rumor or a life story. This the Kyuubi attack and all the chaos and taboo it brought with it. Sakura may be a mature young lady, but there is a reason why the newer generations know nothing about the attack or the demon's existence," he said. Genma blinked before slowing turning towards the Sandaime.

"I know what her sensei told me at the parent-teacher conference. She most likely threatened him with the implication of knowing about the demon and knew what she was getting into by bringing it up with the man."

Genma moved himself back to facing Ibiki. He felt a surge of mixed feelings and he didn't know which one to pick. Appalled that they were thinking about telling Sakura about the incident or proud that she got in trouble during the second week of school.

Hiruzen sighed once more and pulled his pipe from his mouth to breathe out smoke. "Fine," he relented. "If you're that assured in her, you may tell her about it. But it must be disclosed with her parents and if this backfires, it's all on you."

"I will accept all the blame, Hokage-sama," Ibiki said.

"Good. Then you're dismissed."

He looked at the gaping Genma and jerked his head towards the door. Once the were in the hallway, the older man turned to his boss.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. What the hell happened when I was gone?!"

::

Shikaku yawned as he entered the Nara Clan's research facility. It was hidden in the mountains about an hour's walk out the village and behind the Hokage Monument. The place held numerous medicines and held their master book of healing, holding knowledge for generations upon generations.

Only a few Nara went there from time to time, but most of the time it stayed empty and lightly guarded. He nodded to the one or two other clansmen in the building before making his way to the room that held the ingredient stock.

He stopped when he spotted  _his own son_ —that lazy kid who even complained about lifting his hand to move a shogi piece-- walking through the aisles and sifting through everything the clan had to offer. Shikaku looked at the table to see the master book opened with an odd yellow-grey liquid in a vial beside it.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?"

"Huh? Just, uh, something troublesome for a friend. Don't worry 'bout it, it's nothing," he replied, not looking up from his searching. Shikaku approached the master book and scanned the page it was opened to: the Insect section, more specifically the one about Killer Hornets. How to store the venom, combine it with other items to make a far more potent elixir, how to make the antidote...

"Is your friend interested in poisons?"

"I guess. She's weird like that."

Haruno Sakura. It had to be. Her name was frequenting its presence more and more that it made him want to look into her background. He picked up the vial and swirled it around a couple of times, then looked back at the book.

"She extracted this too?" he asked. Shikamaru shook his head and picked out a small jar from the bottom shelf.

"No, that was Shino. He knows allota 'bout bugs and taught us how to do it."

Shikaku put the venom back down and sat in the chair beside the table. Aburame Shino? Shikamaru never talked about him or made any indication of having known him. Those two really must be something to get his son to actually _get up_  and  _do_  something.

He wasn't complaining. It was just everything was just a little bit... odd.

::

The sun was setting on the horizon. Sakura was sat in Ibiki's office on his couch, both her sensei standing in front of her. They had just finished giving her the whole story of the Kyuubi attack and were waiting pensively for her reply. She stared at the ground for a few moments, thinking about what she should say or what reaction would lead her in the right type of light. Eventually, her head shot up with hardened eyes.

"Then that means I have to take care of him more, doesn't it?!" she exclaimed. Genma narrowed his eyes and started forward.

"... What?"

"That's why people are mean to him, right?" she hissed. "Why everyone acts like he doesn't belong? These asses don't know what they're talking about. I knew I should've put more seals in his house!"

Ibiki pressed his lips together and looked to the side, pushing down his desire to laugh. That explained her mother's finding of protection seals under her daughter's bed. She was a good person inside and out, it seemed, and the Hokage was worried over nothing.

"You put seals in his house?" Genma questioned incredulously.

"Yeah. He lives in a pretty rough place."

"Holy shit, kid. You're insane. But I gotta, say, you're real chill for a six year old," he whistled. Ibiki went to sit back at his desk. Maybe it was because she was so young that she had yet to absorb just how heavy the information was. Or maybe it would take just a few more hours to realize what exactly she heard.

As she and Genma kept up their exchange, Ibiki glanced down at the progress report hidden behind some folders. He'd have to hand this over to Sakura's mother soon. But the last time they'd seen each other, a coincidental passing in the streets, she said she was concerned about Sakura's well-being.

He cast a cursory stare her way, then picked up a pen to start his work.

::

Poison-tipped kunai lay concealed in Sakura's clothing as she sat at her desk, chin propped up in her palm and half-lidded eyes pointing towards the empty front of the classroom. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep the previous night, but was well concealed by some lightening balms and healing chakra. The tiredness was part of her routine now, and had been far into the war.

_"You're Haruno Sakura, aren't you? The Godaime's darling apprentice."_

Their teacher hadn't arrived yet, and something was telling her that the asshole hadn't stuck around for much longer.

_"So what if I am?" Sakura snarled, "Someone like you ain't got shit on me!"_

She could barely hear Sasuke and Naruto arguing beside her, or the calm conversation Chouji and Shikamaru were having behind her.

_Obito laughed, half insane half heartily. Black flames surrounded them-- burning down trees and grass and filling the air with the Devil's breath. He slid into an offensive position and held out a tanto before him._

_"Didn't your mentor tell you to not be naive? Or maybe Kakashi didn't lecture you hard enough. I'm your worst enemy, sweetheart."_

Sakura's fingers tapped on her legs as she watched the door slide open.

_"What, because you've got pretty black flames surrounding us? Your scare tactic won't work when I get over there and bring you down!"_

Their new teacher smiled at the bunch of them, a perky sixteen year old with a hop in his step. The room quieted down when he turned towards the chalkboard and wrote his name down.

_Obito laughed again._

_"Oh, Sakura-chan. Then I suppose I'll take this time to teach you the reason why your parents told you not to play with fire."_

"Good morning, class! I'm going to be your new teacher, Iruka-sensei!"

::

_Kabutomushi_ : Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	17. Fire

**Warning: Implied Rape**

::

"Extra training?"

"Yes, has Sakura-chan been doing anything too advanced for her? Maybe additional jutsu exercises, or... or working when she should be resting?" Mebuki questioned. Ibiki couldn't remember a time where Sakura had been doing something she couldn't handle. Lately, she's mostly been practicing her seals and working on higher level problem solving. Genma's been rather lazy as well, teaching chakra control and better utilization of her wrist blades.

"She hasn't," he replied. "Why?"

"I don't think she's been sleeping enough. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and see her light beneath her door. I'm not quite sure how long it's been going on or how she's able to look completely fine every morning... I'm just so worried about her, Morino-san. And I know she won't confide in me for any of it."

Ibiki thought it over for a few moments. "Does she drink anything caffeinated?"

"Not really. She prefers juice drinks."

"What about medications?"

"Nothing but regular vitamins."

"Her sleeping conditions?"

"We normally keep the temperature at around 23°C (74°F)..." she answered. He considered her words and made sure to keep them stored safely in his memory. The first thing that came to his mind would have been that Sakura was under copious amounts of stress, but there wasn't anything that came to mind that would make a six year old suffer from it.

Stress in kids was completely normal as far as he knew. It happened when kids had a schedule that was too packed. Ibiki immediately ruled that cause out. Sakura was far more intelligent than her classmates, excelled in every single subject, and had no issue with anything he and Genma taught her.

He glanced around the kitchen. Her parents seemed like normal, middle-class civilians that probably had no monetary problems and were able to provide a safe, loving environment for her.

"Both parents live in this house, correct?" he asked. Mebuki nodded.

"My husband and I work on the weekdays and get home by six. Sometimes my husband works on Saturday, but most of the time, we're off on the weekends and spend more time with her then," she said. All this information was getting Ibiki more and more confused.

"Family problems?"

"None that I can think of. Morino-san, all these questions you're asking..."

"I'm sorry if they were intrusive, but it's better to get answers out of you than Sakura."

Mebuki saddened. "I understand."

::

Dressed in his ANBU gear and porcelain mask nowhere in sight, Kakashi walked down the street with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He slid through the crowds like a foreboding shadow that no one dared to bother. He looked like the world was heavy on his shoulders, but was too stubborn to do anything about it and carried on the weight like it didn't matter.

His eyes were pools of thunderstorms, always troubled and never close to a resolution. Years it probably brewed, but not a single thing was capable of returning them to the calm sunny day they used to be.

"OOOiiiiii! Kakaaaassshhhiiiii!"

A silent sigh slipped through his face mask as a cheerful Obito popped at his side and fell into step beside him.

"I haven't seen you in forever! Did you go on a mission or something?" he asked. Kakashi cast him a short stare before giving a quiet grunt of assent. Obito flexed his fingers and made his grin wider.

"So you wanna go get something to eat with my otouto and I? I mean, we haven't hung out in a long time," he said. Kakashi kept his eyes forward.

"I'm busy."

"Oh. Well, how about—"

"I don't have time, Obito," he answered, cutting him off. "Maybe next time."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving his oldest friend and ex-teammate by himself on the street. The Uchiha's shoulders sagged forward and he sighed heavily.

"That's what you always say," he mumbled. He scratched the back of his head and walked back down the street. Kakashi had never been the same ever since Rin had been crushed underneath that rock eight years ago. He knew Kakashi relentlessly blamed himself for that incident to this day no matter how many times he told him otherwise.

"Did Hatake-san say no again, nii-san?"

Obito looked down at his fourteen year old brother. "Yeah. But it's okay, you know how he is. Come on, Shisui. Let's get dango and bring some back for obaa-chan."

::

_Two hours later, and the fire was still sky high. Darkness everywhere... horrible, burning darkness. The ground was torn to pieces, and one could barely call it a battle ground. Obito was at one end, leaning against the tree while holding his stomach and holding his fractured leg. Sakura was at the other end on her hands and knees, blood coating her fingers._

_She hated sharingan fire. Hated it. Hated that it couldn't be put out no matter what you did, and you had to remove what it was burning to get rid of it, because it only gets put out when it's finished burning what it's on._

_And that's how she ended up with a neck coated in red liquid and a pile of burning skin hurled to the side._

_Obito scoffed. "You're more like Tsunade than I thought."_

_Sakura raised her head, black lines crawling down her face. "More than you know," she growled._

Sakura was snapped back to reality when Iruka clapped his hands together and regarded the whole class with a wide smile, her hand unconsciously coming up to rub at her neck.

"Alright, everyone! Pass your worksheets down the aisles and I'll come and collect them!" he chirped. He assigned the class some simple icebreaker questions to get to know them better since he joined the classroom a couple of weeks into the year. People asked where their old sensei went to which he gave a vague reply of 'he had a sudden decision to change careers'.

She almost laughed out loud at the excuse.

But Sakura was happy with the change of educator. In this specific timeline, the teacher stayed with the same group of students until graduation to ensure the student-teacher connection remained strong and that the students would be comfortable with someone they knew and hopefully learned better that way. She had no qualms with the curriculum as long as Iruka wasn't shit like the other sensei was.

Sakura gave her paper a quick once over before handing it down to her left.

**Name:**   _Haruno Sakura_

**Directions: Finish the sentence.**

**1) I feel happy when...**   _I'm with my friends._

**2) I feel sad when...**   _I can't help._

**3) I help at home by...**   _doing my chores and carrying kaa-san's grocery bags._

**4) My friends like me because...**   _we're friends._

**5) I like to...**   _train._

**6) My favorite food is...**   _umeboshi._

**7) My favorite animals are...** _slugs._

**8) My hero is...** _I don't believe in heroes._

The icebreaker was as simple as she thought it would be, though she hoped it didn't make Naruto uncomfortable. The whole class started to relax and casually converse amongst themselves when Iruka announced the last fifteen minutes of class to be free time, so he could read through their papers.

Unwittingly, Sakura was brought back into one of her worst memories of the war at the sight of the scented candle flickering innocently at the edge of Iruka's desk.

_Devastation couldn't even begin to describe the landscape. It had looked extremely ugly before, but now it looked as if a meteorite shattered the Earth and left dark flames as its mark on the surface. Sakura lay at the center of all the wreckage with low chakra and barely any will to move._

_She fought her hardest. She attacked him as brutally as she could. She used every ounce of knowledge given to her the past years of her life._

_**... Why wasn't it enough?** _

_Obito limped over to her with a haggard appearance and blood smeared across his body. His mouth was twisted in an enraged expression. He crouched down, placing a knee on her stomach and a hand on her freshly healed throat. “You just turned out to be an annoyance, didn't you?" he hissed."Impairing my health and delaying my plans... I should kill you for this." His hand tightened. "But I won't. It won't do this inconvenience any justice." Obito leaned forward, their noses almost touching and their harsh breath mingling together. He smirked. "At least you're a pretty little thing. You're a virgin, aren't you?"_

_He laughed when her face contorted into pure horror. "What am I asking? It won't matter when I'm done with you."_

"Sakura-chan!"

She pushed down the horrid thought and turned to Naruto. The little ball of sunshine was frightened as he pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "He-He never had ramen!  _Ever_! He's crazy, Sakura-chan! CRAZY, 'ttebayo!" he cried. Sakura smiled and pinched his cheek.

"We can go after school today. How does that sound?" she grinned. Naruto brightened up considerably and spun around back to his black-haired friend.

"There! Now you're gonna see how awesome ramen is!" he exclaimed. Sakura looked behind her.

"Chouji, Shikamaru, want to come with us? Oh, and Shino! You too!"

::

Iruka read through each of the icebreaker papers with amusement. Each set of answers gave a lot of insight to the student's background and upbringing.

**Name:**   _Uchiha Sasuke_

**Directions: Finish the sentence.**

**1) I feel happy when...**   _aniki's home and playng with naruto and sakura_

**2) I feel sad when...**   _no ones home_

**3) I help at home by...**   _lisening to to-sama_

**4) My friends like me because...** _im awsom_

**5) I like to...**   _train and be with friends_

**6) My favorite food is...**   _tomatoz_

**7) My favorite animals are...** _cats_

**8) My hero is...** _aniki_

There were a few exceptions with more adult sounding answers if anything, but there was one paper in particular that caught his attention. Naruto's.

**Name:**   _Uzumaki Naruto_

**Directions: Finish the sentence.**

**1) I feel happy when...**   _im with sakra-chan and saske_

**2) I feel sad when...**  __________________

**3) I help at home by...**   ____________________

**4) My friends like me because...** _i dont no_

**5) I like to...**   _eet ramen and be with sakra-chan and saske_

**6) My favorite food is...**   _ramen_

**7) My favorite animals are...** _fockses cuz thats wat evriwon calls me but i stil like them_

**8) My hero is...** _sakra-chan_

He knew about Naruto-- about what resided in him and about what the demon did. He would try his hardest not to be biased towards him. Iruka understood what it was like to be a lonely child since he himself lost his parents during the Kyuubi attack, but he couldn't imagine living the way Naruto did everyday.

And his hero being another student? That never happened before.

Iruka looked up at the petite girl talking between Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji. He might only be a chuunin, but he knew an advanced shinobi when he saw one. From what he'd seen in the records, she had top marks in every single subject whether it be academically or physically. She was also the one the previous sensei warned him about.

It was something along the lines of her being aggressive if anything happened to her friends, especially to Naruto.

He saw that there was only a minute until the bell rang and that the kids were packing and lining up at the door.

"Uh, Sakura? Can you stay behind for a few minutes? You're not in trouble, I promise," he called over the sea of students. She bobbed her head and said a few things to her friends before walking over to his desk. Iruka waited until the bell rang and for all the students to clear about, then turned to the little girl standing patiently.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei?"

"You're close to Naruto, aren't you?" he asked. Suspicion passed through her eyes so quickly that Iruka thought he was seeing things.

"Yeah..." she answered slowly.

"A-Ah, it's nothing bad, I'm just a little worried about him. I know he's having a hard time by himself because of the Ky—I mean, because of how he is—I mean, not because of  _how_  he is, but his situation and, um..."

Sakura's lip twitched.

"What I'm trying to say is that I was wondering about his home life. If he's okay or not. It must be really hard for him at his age," Iruka said. He blinked nervously when Sakura peered at him for a long while before answering.

"You have no idea where he lives, do you?"

"No?"

Sakura stared at him a little longer then nodded to herself. "Come back to school tonight at eight. I think there's something you should know about Naruto."

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	18. Neon

In the end, everyone Sakura asked to go out for ramen came. Teuchi was pleasantly surprised when five other kids along with his best customer came and filled in all his seats. Their seating from right to left in his perspective went as follows: the sleepy kid, the chubby one, the tiny Uchiha, Naruto, the girl, and sunglasses. He grinned at the blonde.

"Brought your friends over, Naruto-kun?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed, reaching over to pat Sasuke on the back and earning him an annoyed glare from the former, "He's never had ramen before, so he should try the bestest place in all of Konoha, dattebayo!"

Teuchi laughed and started taking orders from Shikamaru's end. "So what'll you be having?" 

"Mm... pork ramen."

"Ch-Chicken, please."

"Me too."

"Beef, please!"

"Tempura."

"Fish... please."

The man smiled and turned to his kitchen to prepare their meals. The six of them immediately lit up in clustered conversation paired between who they sat with. Sakura spun her seat a little to her right to face Shino.

"Did the kabutomushi lay her eggs yet?" she asked. He blinked, surprised that she remembered something he'd think would be insignificant for her. He adjusted his glasses.

"She did. Yesterday," Shino replied.

"Really?" she mused. "When the larvae turn into adults, tell me so we could go see more of them?"

He averted his gaze and nodded. Shikamaru caught wind of the conversation from down the bar and remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tube wrapped in cloth and made a move for it to be passed down the line.

"Sakura. Here's that thing you wanted. It was a pain," he complained. The weird bundle earned numerous stares as Sakura's eyes lit up and she untied it to inspect the contents. Naruto donned a weary expression at the blackish goop she was swirling around.

"Ewwwww, that's gross," he commented, wrinkling his nose. Sasuke pushed his face aside to get a better look at the concoction.

"What's that?"

Content with the mixture, Sakura wrapped it back up and tucked it into a hidden pocket in the hem of her shirt.

"It's a poison," she answered. "Shino and Shikamaru helped me get it. Right?"

Shikamaru frowned. "You made me exercise then  _ you pulled us in a lake _ ."

"We were getting chased by hornets, what did you want me to do?!" Sakura pouted. Teuchi turned around and started placing their ramen in front of them. Shino reached for a pair of chopsticks and broke them apart.

"Tell us first," he murmured. Shikamaru nodded in agreement and took a pair of chopsticks himself. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome," she sniffed. There was a chorus of itadakimasu's  before they went to dig into their ramen. After slurping up his first few bites, Chouji glanced curiously at Sakura.

"Hornets?" he asked, "That doesn't sound safe."

"Sakura-chan never does nothin' safe." 

Sakura huffed and went back to her ramen. For a moment, Chouji was old. In his late teens, early twenties-- dead on the ground not too far from Lee. The sight was vivid and fresh, the scent of death hanging heavy in her nose. It took her some seconds to recollect herself and force a smile onto her face.

Nothing was wrong.

And nothing was going to  _ be _ wrong.

::

Mikoto went off to attend a meeting with some of the Uchiha clan shinobi and intended to come back before the Academy let out. But it had gone far longer than she anticipated and she was rushing home to greet Sasuke. As she passed the ramen stand, she heard laughter.

"Stop lyin'!"

"I'm not!"

"You're too troublesome to do somethin' like that."

She slowed down and lifted the cloth tarp to peek into the ramen bar. Immediately, she saw her son in the midst of other Academy students. The strange girl, Haruno Sakura, was there with him once more along with Naruto. Mikoto stepped away from the restaurant and continued her way to the compound.

It wasn't that Mikoto had anything against the boy. She knew he was Kushina's son and meant no harm in any way shape or form, but he drew dangerous attention. People could come and hurt him at any moment, so what would happen if Sasuke was with him at the wrong place at the wrong time?

Then again, there was Sakura. The enigma. If she was constantly around those two and was that advanced as Obito said she was, she wouldn't dawdle upon it. They seemed the safest (and happiest) around the girl so she wouldn't do anything to butt in.

Mikoto frowned. She wanted to know more about the girl; why were they all drawn to her? Why was she so mature? And... what exactly made her this way?

::

Yashamaru didn't know what to do. For the most part, his wounds had healed and he was no longer confined to bed rest. He made an effort to talk to Gaara and apologize for everything he said that night, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He was never in his room when he checked nor was he in any other place he normally frequented.

He shouldn't be surprised by this development. He didn't deserve for Gaara to forgive him for taking up that mission. Yashamaru raked a hand through his blonde hair as he slipped out the village gates. If only he hadn't doubted the boy. Gaara put all his faith and trust into him and he ruined it with just a few heartbreaking sentences.

If—

"I don't know what to do, Hiruko."

"What's wrong?"

Yashamaru stopped, eyes widening. He nearly forgot this place, one of Gaara's most secretive hideaways: the oasis just a bit away from the village with the Rafu River running through it. He crept over silently and pressed himself against the bark of a tree before peering around it. Gaara sat at the edge of the river, gazing up sadly at the hooded figure beside him.

"Yashamaru wants to talk to me again," he murmured. "I see him ask people sometimes. But... But he's going to try and kill me again, isn't he?" Gaara clutched his puppet closer. "He is, isn't he? He'll try again and again and again an' again..."

He started to shake as tears fell down his cheeks. Remorse coursed through Yashamaru's insides, yet he remained in his spot and waited. 'Hiruko' reached over and gently patted the boy's head to calm him down.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that again," he said, "I know how hard it is when someone betrays you like that. I learned that the hard way back in my younger days."

The boy rubbed at his eyes. "S-So were y-you mad?"

"Mhm. But I've had a long,  _ long _ time to think about it... And trust me, I've had a lot of experience with these things," 'Hiruko' hummed. Yashamaru was sure that this man had probably sensed him by now and had no clue as to why he kept acting like nothing was happening. "But eventually, I let it go. Forgave them."

Gaara blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Because when you forgive someone, you're not doing it for them. You're doing it for yourself." 'Hiruko' stood. "Take it from me. At least listen to what he has to say before deciding to forgive him or not. In the end, it's your choice," he smiled. He turned his head, allowing Yashamaru to see the soft, big brother like expression on the lower half of his face. Gaara stood up as well and latched onto the man's baggy sleeve.

"You're leaving? Already?" he asked.

"Sorry, Gaara. I'll come back soon, okay?"

Gaara nodded and let go, letting the man disappear from sight. Yashamaru had already gone by making a hasty retreat back to the village.

::

"Nya! Is that dango? Lemme taste, lemme taste, lemme taste, lemme taste!" Kou purred. He trotted around Itachi's legs relentlessly and whipped his tail around in anticipation. Itachi stalled at the sudden appearance of the feline. He looked at the windows and doors before lowering his dango stick and letting the cat munch on it.

"Hello again. Did you need something?"

"A snack. But this dango is sooo good, nya!"

The cat padded about the kitchen in the main house and jumped up onto the countertop. He sat on the granite with a sharp grin, bright eyes pinning the eleven year old boy to the spot. Itachi was... curious, to say the least. This summons had made it a point to pop out of nowhere and hang around for a few minutes, then leave as mysteriously as he came. It made him wonder.

"Kou-san."

He leaned forward. "Hm?"

"Why are you here, exactly?" the Uchiha questioned. "I doubt anyone in my family had summoned you, and Nekobaa-sama would never interfere in business that isn't hers."

Kou bobbed his head. "True. True."

"Then—"

"Then nothing!" the cat exclaimed, striking a fabulous pose. "No need to worry, 'tachi-chan. I'm a summon closely tied to your clan. There's only  _ so _ many people I can contract with, nya."

Kou leapt off the counter and strutted out the kitchen with his tail raised in the air. "Bye bye!"

Itachi was left in the middle of his home with a dango stick in his hand and a whirring mind. Someone must be keeping an eye on him, he deduced. It couldn't have been someone from the clan, as no one would dare spy on the main house. And Nekobaa-sama had secluded herself in an abandoned city for a reason she would sell her weapons, nothing more or less.

With Kou being a summon, he couldn't hope to track them without violating some code of conduct.

The light pitter-patter of footsteps came from the front door.

"Aniki! You're home!" Sasuke grinned. Mikoto walked behind him as he jumped into his older brother's arms. Itachi smiled.

"How was your day, Sasuke? Did you have fun?"

Sasuke pouted. "It was okay. I like Iruka-sensei better than the other sensei 'cause he's nice and fair," he said, surprising Itachi. "But then I had ramen with Naruto and Sakura and Chouji and Shikamaru and Shino! I had a lotta fun!"

"Did you? That's great."

Sasuke wriggled out of Itachi's grip and made way towards his room.

"I gotta do my homework. I'll be in my room kaa-san, aniki!" he shouted from the top of the stairs. Itachi stared after him with a raised eyebrow before turning to his mother.

"He's with his friends more often."

"It's a good thing." Mikoto sighed. "I won't have to worry too much anymore."

::

It was quiet near the Academy. In the absence of kids and other teachers, a sort of eerie feeling crawled up Iruka's spine. He sat down on the makeshift swing and looked up at the stars, marveling at their twinkle. He didn't know why he agreed to a meeting on a night like this. Six year olds shouldn't be let out at night, shouldn't they?

"Sensei."

Iruka jumped and scrambled to his feet. Behind him stood Sakura dressed in a pair of black unisex pants and a loose green shirt. Had he not known any better, he would've thought she was a little boy who happened to have eccentric pink hair.

"Sa-Sakura! I didn't hear you—I mean—how long did, uh, did you just get here?" he asked with an embarrassed grin. She nodded.

"Yeah. Follow me. I'll show you where Naruto lives," she said. She turned on her heel and went off. Iruka jogged a bit to catch up with her. Sakura was just as quiet as her surroundings, oddly enough. She was completely different than how she was in class. More serious and more mature, she held herself like a higher shinobi—if she were his equal. Sakura made no indication of small talk and kept a little ways ahead to guide him through the thinning streets.

"Um, Sakura? Are you over at Naruto's a lot?" he questioned.

"It depends. I teach him how to cook, how to clean... He can't live off ramen for the rest of his life, but I guess the orphanage never wanted to teach him any of that," she sighed. She made a sharp turn down a narrow road, causing Iruka to nearly trip over his own feet. His eyebrows furrowed.

"He doesn't live at the orphanage?"

"They kicked him out."

Neon lights invaded his vision as the street of the Akasen came into view. Crowds of people were strung alongside the buildings with numerous provocative individuals coaxing others from the doorways. Panicked, Iruka opened his mouth to warn Sakura about what they were getting into only to be cut off.

"If you don't make a scene, they won't care," she mentioned quietly. Her expression darkened a considerable amount, "Keep up, sensei."

Sakura made an abrupt left into a maze of dingy alleyways. These were the backs of the clubs, casinos, and love hotels. All that could really be seen here were the dumpsters and unconscious drunks, and the occasional sight of a raunchy couple in the shadows who thought no one would be looking.

Iruka blushed every time.

Eventually, they came upon  _ Magenta _ 's back street. Iruka eyed the steel staircase that hugged the edge of the building and led up to the third floor. A single window was lit up-- curtains drawn and a short shadow passing by every now and again. His shoulders dropped.

"Not... here," he mumbled. "Surely... He can't be allowed to live her. He's—Naruto's just a  _ boy _ ."

...

"I know."

Sakura turned her head to observe his wide eyes. "You see a boy, sensei. But you know that's not what everyone else thinks.” 

His surprise diverted to her and she looked away. "You—"

"Don't be too hard on him, okay? He's had it rough his whole life and there's only so much I can do for him. You understand, right?"

Her back was turned to him, blocking his view of her face. Her fists were clenched at her sides and he could see her veins emerging from her arm.

"Right."

Sakura's head lowered as she began her walk away from the apartment. "Goodnight, sensei."

For a long while, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Now he knew what is was about her that made the other sensei retire, and why he gave him fair warning against her. But he was able to tear his eyes away from her small form and leave the Akasen in the opposite direction.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	19. Forgiveness

Everything was going by smoothly. After the initial shock of her existence, Sakura managed to make herself fade into the rest of the Academy students despite her outstanding excellence. The school days went by normally and without incident with Iruka's fair and open way of teaching. Naruto was treated as any other student and was held up to the exact same standard—the way Sakura would've had it if she were in charge of education.

She, Sasuke, and Naruto stayed as close to each other as ever. They mostly hung out at Naruto's apartment whenever they could because of how convenient it was to stay away from prying eyes and judgmental whispers. Sakura was confident enough to say they were close enough to stand at each other's backs in any situation. It was also safe to say that they could rely on Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino as well.

Sakura did make her trip to the Aburame Household alongside Shikamaru every now and then to study up on more insects (and more possible poisons). The time Chouji tagged along with them, he and Shino hit it off immediately. One clan dealt with bugs and the other with butterflies, so they had plenty to talk about.

Her internship under Ibiki and Genma went as expected. Her chakra reserves grew substantially and her muscle mass was easily seen on her arms and legs, leading her to wear pants and long sleeves to avoid even more suspicion. She could now freely use chuunin level techniques in their presence, leading up to her quickly learning to use her wrist blades.

One thing she didn't think to account for was how much more... involved they were in her life. Sakura noticed that she was spending a lot of her free time at the T&I building. If she wasn't lounging on Ibiki's office couch, she'd be lazing around on the rooftop or training grounds with Genma.

It was during those moments when she caught up with her sleep. Luckily enough, they never questioned it.

"Alright everyone—outside!" Iruka called to his class of second years. "We're going to learn about kunai and shuriken safety!"

Sakura stood from her seat and trailed beside Naruto and Sasuke on their way towards the training grounds. The two were unaware of the slight change in her expression; the way it had gotten weary and filled with hopeless acceptance.

She couldn't sleep anymore. She couldn't stop getting all those flashbacks from the war. She couldn't stop hearing, stop... stop  _seeing_  all her friends dead and suffering even though she knew they were all alive and innocent again. And when she saw or even thought of a fire—

Someone poked her shoulder. "Oi, Sakura."

Ino came into view with platinum blonde hair pulled up in a short ponytail and sky blue eyes widened in worry.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "You, I dunno, you don't look okay. Your jaw's tight, your fist's balled, and you're... distracted?"

Sakura's finger twitched. How could she forget? The Yamanaka prided themselves in being experts in the human mind, as it was the clan specialty. That meant they knew about telling signs, when a person was lying, and reading body language. Not to mention that her father was one of the most prominent figures with T&I. It wouldn't be wrong to start teaching his seven year old daughter a trick or two.

"I'm fine," she answered, voice unwavering. "I'm just thinking about some things."

Ino stared at her for a few seconds. "... Okay."

Reluctantly, she turned back to one of her friends and continued her conversation with another girl. Though she did keep a close eye on Sakura as the class settled themselves on the training grounds. And when Iruka began his long spiel on what to do and what not to do with the weapons, Ino saw that Sakura was again off in her own world-- jaw tight, fists balled, and... distracted.

::

"Gaara, correct?"

Gaara jumped and looked over his shoulder. Standing in the soft lighting of the public library was Chiyo: the famed puppet-master and poison user as well as one of Rasa's advisors. She peered into the fearful eyes of the Kazekage's son.

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"I see. What are you doing here so early then, child?"

Gaara shifted his weight from foot to foot and cast his line of sight at anything but her. The book he picked out from the shelf was held tightly against his side.

"I wanted to know about, um, f-forgiveness," he said, "I thought the library would have something."

There was no visible change in her face, but something told him that she didn't quite believe what she was hearing. In a quick boost of confidence, he raised the book he was holding to show her the cover. A heartbeat passed before she gently took it from his hands and read the title.

_ Forgive _

_A book on how to free yourself._

_Honda Kayo_

Chiyo handed him back the book. The Yashamaru incident, she supposed. She had advised against the course of action because it had the potential to psychologically damage Gaara to the point of no return, but in the end it was Rasa's decision. Not a good one, but his nonetheless.

"I'll leave you to it. Don't stay in too long, your father may look for you later," she mentioned. The boy's eyes darted to the ground as she walked away. When he was sure she was gone, he went over to the most secluded table at the library and sat down to read the book. Gaara flipped through the first few pages, stopping at the introduction.

_ There are some things that you need to understand before continuing through this book. Here are the main seven points you need to consider to open your heart to forgiving. _

_ 1.) When you forgive someone, that doesn't mean you have to be okay with what they did. _

That wouldn't be a problem for him. It had been a year and a half now and he had yet to approach Yashamaru and talk about what happened. Since then, they rarely spoke to one another.

_ 2.) When you forgive someone, you don't have to tell them that they're forgiven. If you show that you have gotten past the problem they should be able to see it for themselves. _

He missed Yashamaru. He wasn't going to lie about that.

_ 3.) Forgiving someone doesn't mean everything's going to be solved. There are still going to be problems, and there are things that still need to be worked out. _

But somehow, it didn't seem right to approach him and tell him that everything would be fine.

_ 4.) After forgiving someone, you can still talk about it. Have feelings about it? That's perfectly normal. Want to talk about it? By all means, go ahead. Communication is key. Nothing's wrong with it. _

Gaara wasn't exactly comfortable communicating with people. The only person he ever opened up with had been Hiruko, and he only came by one or two times a month.

_ 5.) I'm sure you've heard the phrase "forgive and forget". Forgiving is what should be done. But you should never forget-- you learn and grow from it. _

The things that Yashamaru said... that he was filth, a monster, and a self-loving carnage—how could he forget that?

_ 6.) Forgiving someone doesn't mean you need to keep them in your life. It can be hard; I know it can be. But if you think that removing that person from your life is your best course of action, no one is stopping you. _

Did he want to patch it up with him? It had been a long time and his uncle was the very first person who tried to reach out to him. If he was able to give him a chance, he felt he should be able to return the gesture.

_ 7.) Forgiveness isn't for the other person. _

Gaara sunk into the wooden chair. Just as Hiruko said. He didn't even read the rest of the book when he shut the cover and hopped from his seat. He walked near the Kage Tower, avoiding the constant stares of everyone else, and approached the apartment he stayed at multiple times when he was younger.

He stretched his hand above his head, fingers curled into a loose fist. A minute passed and he still stood there—waiting with an arm held high. Did he really want to talk to him again? Was he ready to talk about what happened?

He didn't know. At all.

"...Gaara... sama?" Yashamaru paused at the end of the corridor with a couple of grocery bags in one hand and his house key in the other. Gaara yanked his arm back down and turned to the side, holding his hands behind his back.

"H-H-Hi," he mumbled. His eyes were glued to his feet. "I-I, um..."

A sudden dread spilled over his face as he broke into a run down the hall. "I'm s-sorry!"

"Gaara-sama!"

Yashamaru spun around to catch another glimpse of him, but he was already gone.

::

Itachi was having a relatively nice day. Neither Shisui nor Obito had dropped by so far, giving him a quiet time to drink some tea and reflect on his thoughts. His father had yet to return from his police duties and his mother was in the living room, curled up on the couch with a book in her hands. He hadn't received free time like this ever since he joined ANBU, so perhaps he could finally catch up on time lost with Sasuke.

It's been so long since he'd actually spent time with his younger brother that he felt real guilt over not being home that much anymore.

When Sasuke came home from the Academy, he stepped through the door in a frenzy and a wide grin on his face. The boy struggled to take of his sandals and fell over once before eventually kicking them off and running to the living room. He greeted his mother first and kissed her on the cheek, then ran into the kitchen. Sasuke skidded to a stop at the sight of his older brother at the table.

"Aniki!" he exclaimed. Itachi smiled and beckoned him over.

"Welcome home, otouto. How was school?" he asked, tousling his hair. Sasuke pouted and lightly swatted at the appendage.

"School was fine. Kinda boring 'cause he was talking about shuriken and kunai and what to do, but I knew about that," he answered. Seeming to remember something, he rushed over to the pantry and looked around inside. Itachi watched him curiously.

"Hm. I don't have have anymore duties for today. Would you like to join me for training?"

Sasuke emerged from the pantry with an armful of potatoes. He placed them on the table, removed all his papers from his book bag, and slid the vegetables into it.

"Sorry, Aniki. I'm busy."

Itachi blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, I got allota things to do. I'll see you later!"

He slung the bag over his shoulder and ran back out the house, stepping back into his sandals and bolting out the door. Itachi and Mikoto shared a confused look, though his mother's lips quirked up into an amused smile and a small chuckle before she turned back to her book. Her eldest son, on the other hand, moved his stare back to the closed door.

Well... maybe this was a one time thing.

...

But it wasn't, of course. He's been having a lot of shit luck lately, and this definitely wasn't helping.

ANBU had been giving him more guard duty lately which meant that he was out of the house at two o'clock am every day and back at three o'clock pm sharp. And every day, he'd ask if Sasuke would want to go out on a walk or if he'd be up for learning another jutsu. But alas, he kept on getting turned down.

"I'm gonna work in a study group today!"

"We're gonna go and get ramen again, sorry, Aniki."

"Naruto said he was gonna show us a cool bug he found yesterday, so me, Sakura, and Shino are going to the training grounds."

"I can't today, Sakura said she would help me with throwing kunai!"

"Naruto got sick so me and Sakura are gonna take care of him."

Just like that, a whole school week had passed and Itachi was in the living room with drooping shoulders and defeated expression. It was Saturday and Sasuke wasn't even home! Now he was stuck with his annoying cousins laughing over his misfortune.

"Karma sucks, ne, Itachi?" Shisui grinned. He didn't even cringe when a blistering glare was shot in his direction. Obito patted his head.

"Don't worry about it, Itachi-chan. It's not bad that Sasuke has friends now, is it?"

"... No," the youngest begrudgingly admitted, "though it wouldn't hurt if he were home more often. But I will have to thank Naruto and Sakura in the future."

Obito cocked his head and hummed thoughtfully.

"It's  _that_  Sakura, isn't it?" he murmured to himself.

::

"Why would you be here in the daytime?"

"I was in the neighborhood and dropped by to see how your day was going and this is the greeting I get? Ungrateful brat."

"I hope you get caught."

"I hope you're too short to reach things."

"How tall are you again? 4'8"?"

"From this moment on, I'm disowning you."

Sakura rolled her eyes and leaned against the tree she was taking refuge in. Sasori sat on the branch next to her, his Akatsuki cloak folded in a way to hide the clouds and draped over the branch behind him. His life had been going quite easily so far, surprisingly enough to him. The Akatsuki was as lenient as ever with their members and let them roam around as they pleased.

There were less missions, though. Since the tailed beasts were no longer a part of the Akatsuki's missions, they stayed a for-hire mercenary group to raise funds for themselves and Amegakure's orphanages and charities. Yahiko, he discovered some time ago, was the hard-working leader of the village when he took control of it from Sanshouo no Hanzo years ago.

"How are Gaara and Deidara?" she questioned.

"Alright, I suppose. I'm trying out some emotional building with Gaara and working with Onoki in assuring that Deidara never leaves Iwagakure. So far so good. I haven't been able to find Hidan, though. I've been too caught up with the other two," he said. Sakura gazed up at the leaves.

"Hidan... the one with the voodoo doll jutsu?"

"Mhm. And the one who was defeated by the Nara boy. I'll check up on him in a few years and see what he's been up to. Maybe I'll even go and try to stop him from joining in the Akatsuki. I should take you along for that one."

She shrugged. "If I'm out of the Academy by then, why not?"

Sasori gazed into her face for a few moments, eyes narrowed and searching. "You're wearing lightening balm around your eyes again," he commented. "You're still not getting enough sleep, are you?"

She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Nothing could get past him. "No. Sorry."

"We've been back for about two years. I think it would be best if you got some therapy or something along the lines of that..." He saw the murkiness of her eyes. "... But I know none of them would understand. Here, I have some of my personally made sleeping pills if you want to try them out. Half a pill every other night," he instructed. Sasori reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a small bottle filled with circular blue pills. He took her hand and made her hold onto the container.

"Thanks."

"Sakura, look me in the eyes."

Green clashed with brown.

"Half a pill every other night. Do  _not_  take them everyday and do  _not_  take more than half a pill. Alright?"

It was a few long moments of his dead serious look piercing through her soul before she nonchalantly pocketed the bottle waved him off.

"I'm a medic, Sasori-san. No need to tell me twice."

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	20. Anomaly

Hinata felt ashamed to admit it, but she was a little envious of Haruno Sakura. Don't get her wrong, she had nothing against her classmate. In fact, she really looked up to her as a person. Sakura had amazing amounts of intelligence, was the most physically fit out of everyone in their year, was able to make friends with some of the more difficult cases, and had every ounce of courage to stand up for Naruto when no one else would.

Not to mention that she was really pretty.

She glanced at the pink haired girl in the front row. Sakura was turned around in her seat so she could talk to Chouji and Shikamaru. To her right was Naruto, puzzling over a worksheet on his desk. Sasuke was trying to help him by talking through it step by step.

_'It must be nice.'_

Hinata didn't have very many friends. Well... not a friend at all when she thought about it. She was sure that everyone else thought she was too quiet and too weird to hang out with. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to others, but it was that it made her too nervous and she didn't know how to talk to other people. The thought scared her. A lot.

Sakura managed to to do it so naturally—like she didn't even try to be friends with them. Hinata straightened in her seat when Iruka called attention to the front of the room.

"Everyone! For the next assignment I'll be partnering you guys up," he said. He picked up a sheet of paper from his desk, "First is Naruto and Chouji."

The list went on with Hinata fidgeting nervously in her seat.

"... Sakura and Hinata..."

Hinata's eyes widened. Was that going to be okay? She was silent when all the other pairs were called out, and stayed in her spot when the class shifted to sit with their partners. At her right, Shino stood to sit next to Sasuke and was replaced with Sakura who greeted her with a sweet smile.

"Hey, Hinata. Haven't talked to you in a while."

"A-Ah, h-h-hm..."

She looked at the assignment placed in front of them, blushing absolutely red in embarrassment. Sakura made no inclination of being bothered at the stuttering and picked up her pencil to point at the first question.

"This one's about probability. You're good at solving stuff like this, yeah?" she asked. Hinata's head shot up. Sharp green eyes regarded her openly, appearing both warm and cold, calculating and lackadaisical. There was something so kind and frightening about her eyes that Hinata couldn't say anything in return, opting to pressing her lips together and nodding.

"Okay, so do you want to split up the work fifty-fifty or work on each one together? I'm fine with either one, so you can choose."

Hinata flustered even more under the pressure of trying to make a quick decision. She stumbled over getting her words out for a couple of seconds, then fell into a shameful silence. Usually at this point, the other kids would start to mock her or move their attention elsewhere. But Sakura looked as patient as ever and waited for her to continue on with what she was saying.

"I... um... sp-split..."

"You can take the first ten and I'll take the last ten. Then I'll turn it into Iruka-sensei for us afterwards," Sakura said. Hinata nodded and set to work. She glanced at her partner's paper from time to time to see how fast or well she was getting her work done.

Sakura was a genius. Ten questions were finished within a minute; all work was shown and all answers were most likely 100% correct.

"You're re-really smart, Sakura-s-san," Hinata found herself saying as she moved onto her next problem. The other girl cracked her neck.

"Thanks. I do a lot of outside studying in my spare time. Sometimes in a group with Naruto, Sasuke, Chouji, Shikamaru, Shino..." A sudden gleam that sparked in Sakura's eyes. "... Actually, we have a study group on Saturday. You should come."

Hinata stopped writing and slowly looked up. Her cloudy white eyes had gone as large as saucers. "M-Me?"

Sakura gave a charming lopsided grin that made the Hyuuga's face a darker red than it already was.

"Yeah. The people who have the most trouble on their work are Chouji and Naruto, but you have to make sure Naruto doesn't get distracted. We've got to keep Shikamaru awake and Sasuke and Shino are always competing to get the most answers, so it's not as bad as it looks. Plus, it gets kind of boring being the only girl in the group and I think you're pretty cool."

Hinata's jaw slackened.

Her?

Being called cool?

By  _Sakura_?!

She couldn't stop the bubble of shock and happiness from bursting in her chest. It only increased tenfold when an arm was slung over her shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"You're a pretty sweet girl too, so maybe the boys would clean up their act a little bit. If you gave a big smile for them, do you think you can get one of them to blush?"

Sakura's sly grin, suggestive words, and physical contact must've been too much for her.

...

Because she fainted.

::

She didn't mean to make a scene out of the whole thing. Really. She was excited to see Hinata again because she hadn't been one of the casualties during the war. Hinata had always an enthusiastic ray on the battlefield, always encouraging others during the fighting and being an optimistic nurse in lifting wounded shinobi spirits. Sakura was always thankful for her helping as best she could around the medical unit. She, regardless of what happened, never lost a bit of hope.

Though she couldn't say the same for herself.

_She had given up on herself a long time ago._

But on a happier note, the nurse's office looked really nice. Sakura insisted on carrying her all the way here (it was her fault, anyways) and surprised her whole class by carrying her bridal style like she weighed nothing. The nurse was currently out to restock on some of the medication.

Sakura sat on the stool beside the bed and stared outside the window. Blue skies, rustling leaves, and peace written in the walls... She sighed and rubbed at her tired eyes. How much could she really make things change in this timeline? Say there was no Uchiha Massacre and Sasuke was really saved, say Naruto found a loving home and he no longer had to suffer by himself, say the war would never happened and her and Sasori would never have to live through that hell ever again.

... What would happen next?

"Mm... S... Sakura-san?"

She spun around and greeted Hinata. "Hey again. You fainted."

Not the best choice of words, but she just couldn't help herself. Hinata went just as red as she was before as she tucked her legs beneath herself and bowed her head.

"I-I'm so sorry for cau-causing trouble!"

Sakura raised both hands to calm her down. "Don't worry, it's no big deal. I shouldn't have made fun of you in the first place," she admitted sheepishly. She stood to stretch her legs before walking out the door. "Oh, and Hinata?"

The Hyuuga looked up.

"The study group's meeting in front of the Academy at twelve, then we're going to Shikamaru's. You're coming Saturday, right?" Sakura questioned. Hinata's entire expression lit up significantly as she nodded.

"Y-Yes!"

::

The Academy let out five minutes ago and Sakura was taking a leisurely pace to the T&I building. Genma was a million shades of excited the day before, babbling constantly about a new training regime he was going to try out today as a result of talking with Gai. He actually got so irritatingly happy over it that Ibiki kicked him out of the office.

_"Let me talk to my favorite student!"_

_"Shut the fuck up, Shiranui."_

Anything that had to do with Gai was bound to be  _fantastic_. But she wasn't complaining on any part of it. She needed to get stronger as fast as possible to ensure she was capable enough to protect the people she was closest to. There was still a long ways to go, as one could clearly see, and there were still things in this world she had yet to discover.

"You! With the pink hair! Could you please stand right there, no wait—a little to the left, great! Right there! Keep still for a few minutes, please?"

She couldn't believe her luck. Right across the street on a plain wood bench was a miniature Sai. His tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth in pure concentration as he drew in a sketchbook propped against his bent knees. He wore a simple gray shirt and black pants with... an oddly normal emotional disposition.

"What are you drawing?" she asked. He kept scribbling in his book, providing no answer. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Oi!"

His head slowly raised, but his eyes were kept on his paper. "Sorry, it's just that the way the light hits your hair's so different! You can move now, I'm done, and it's that I've never seen hair like yours before! Did you dye it? Nah, it looks too nice to be dyed. So it's natural! But how? I—"

Sakura crossed the street after getting over the shock of being attacked by an onslaught of words. She took a seat beside him and let him keep talking until he felt like he said everything. He suddenly paused and offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I ramble. A lot. Don't mean to. But I do." His smile turned into a grin. "I'm Shimura Sai! What's your name?"

There were suddenly images of Danzo in her mind—his arm of sharingan eyes and his constant campaign to remove Tsunade from her seat as Godaime. That man was a poison to the village as a whole and deserved the beheading he received.

In the old timeline, at least.

"Haruno Sakura," she replied smoothly. "Do you attend the Academy?"

"The Shinobi Academy? No, I'm a civilian. Ji-san wanted me to go a couple years ago, and nii-san too, but... I want to be an artist. And they're cool with it, so I'm gonna try my hardest!" he exclaimed. Sakura couldn't help but smile herself and looked down at his drawing. Not exactly professional, but quite impressive for an eight year old. She was relieved to know that she wouldn't have to fuss over him too much this time around and that he'd probably lead a relatively normal life. And not die in that horrific ambush.

"So, what about you?"

Sakura turned her head. "Hm?"

"When you're older! What do you want to be? Or, I guess, what kind of shinobi?"

She was quiet. It was a nice day outside with chirping birds and a warm, calming air. It felt like nothing bad was or never would go wrong again.

"A good one. That's enough for me."

::

She was really late and she hoped Genma and Ibiki wouldn't get on her ass for it. This Sai was more than pleasant to talk to even if he talked a little  _too_  much, but everything other than that was just fine. Perfectly, actually. He lived with another boy named Shin and were both adopted by councilman Danzo about four years ago. Danzo was a kind but strict man who wanted excellence in everything they strove for regardless of what it might be. He was a far cry from the man she knew, but at least it worked.

Sakura stepped through T&I's glass doors to see Kotetsu and Raido talking around the receptionist's desk.

"So he finally came back, huh? It's been two or three years since he left."

"I'm just surprised as you. I heard he had no leads again. You think he'd give up on finding Tsunade?"

"You know he won't. But maybe this time he'll take up the spot of Hokage."

Her fingers twitched. The two stopped their conversation to wave Sakura by before going back to what they were talking about. She climbed the stairs to the third floor of the building with gears spinning wildly in her mind.

_'Were they talking about Jiraiya?'_

No other person came to mind when it came to the topic of Tsunade. As Sakura walked down the hallway, all she could hear were snippets of comments about this stranger and how he'd been trying for so long to find Tsunade even though she was more than a lost cause.

She would have to see this for herself because she also heard that he was in the building. Sakura silently made her way to the office and opened the door. Genma was in and so was Ibiki, but there was a another man standing with his back facing her.

She stilled.

This man definitely was  _not_  Jiraiya.

She had never seen him before in either this timeline or the last. Nothing about him was familiar. Not a detail on his person struck a chord within her. And when he turned around, she was even more at a loss at his kind teal eyes and the light-colored hair that swayed against his back.

"You must be Sakura," he said. She had never heard that voice before. Not once. Her brain kept up a relentless search to pinpoint who it was standing before her. But her face was plain and respectful, giving a nod of agreement.

"I am. Nice to meet you...?"

The man smiled and held out his hand. She took it.

"Kato Dan," he introduced. "Nice to meet you too, Sakura-chan."

::

Sasori learned a lot about himself in those eighty or so years he spent in the Void. One of those things he kept thinking about were the state of his parents and every time his grandmother lied to him about it. He remembered how confused he was as a young boy.

Would his parents ever come back?

Were they safe?

Did they... leave?

Did they leave  _him_?

Was it his fault because they didn't want him anymore?

He knew now that it wasn't their fault, or even Chiyo's for giving him the sliver of false hope in his childhood. How does someone approach a small kid and tell them that their parents are dead when he spends his days by the window, waiting for them to come home?

Sasori opened that same window he stayed by and slipped into his own room. It looked just as he left it, save for the layer of dust that collected over everything. Even the picture of him and his parents were still sitting on the nightstand.

He removed it from the frame and pocketed it.

He didn't want to dawdle too much on those memories. There was only one thing he came for and he was going to leave just as quickly as he came. Sasori made his way down the faintly recognizable hallways down to his old work room. Wooden limbs and puppet models suspended from the ceiling as the scent of sawdust filled his nose. He approached the end of the dark room to where the only finished prototypes hung: mother and father.

They looked just like he left them, a perfect likening to their human counterparts. He reached up to the hooks and untied them from their spots.

"No need to keep watch over me," he said. "This is the only thing I came for, I assure you."

Chiyo stood in the doorway, warily watching her grandson take down the puppets. Her fingers flexed over her own scrolls. "... You came all this way, sneaking past village security and around all villagers just to take your old puppets?"

Sasori crouched on the ground and opened a storage scroll. He then took an ink bottle and a brush and wrote down a few notes before sealing the two puppets inside. "Not just the puppets. I'm thinking of visiting their graves and paying my respects. I don't think I have in a while, or even at all."

He rolled up the scroll and tucked it into his belt. Chiyo took a step forward with her arm outstretched. "About your parents—"

"Killed by Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha. I know," he interrupted, waving a hand. "I don't blame you for not telling me, you didn't know how."

She blinked. "How did you...?"

"I became more knowledgeable recently. Things happened, time passed, and I came to appreciate things a little bit more. Of course I still hate liars, but there's always a reason, isn't there?"

Chiyo didn't know what to say, and Sasori could see that as clearly as anyone else. He flipped his hood over his head and strode past his grandmother.

"Sasori."

He stopped a few inches behind her.

"I'm... I'm sorry. For everything I ever did to you and every lie I told. I should have never done something like this, and I know I'm too late for apologies. Years-- decades, even. I know you don't have to ever forgive me for it, and I'm sorry. I never meant for it to be this way," she whispered. He took her shoulder and gently spun her around, giving a genuine smile.

"It's alright, baa-sama."

And he was gone.

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	21. Cognizant

_ Find anything and everything you know about Kato Dan including the relationship between him and Tsunade. He could go and possibly become the Godaime Hokage. I heard that he had been gone from between two to three years, so it was from before when we arrived. I don't know whether to regard him as a suspicious person or not, and I'm hoping for the latter. Reports on Suna and Iwa would be appreciated. _

**_~_ H.S. **

_\--_

_ Kato Dan, age 44. Renowned jounin of Konohagakure, most known for his advocacy of having med-nin assigned to each team. Born December 4th, Blood Type A, registration number 002973, biological uncle to Shizune: Tsunade's first apprentice. Two jutsu he's known for is the Chakra Transfer Jutsu and the Reika no Jutsu, where the user's spirit materializes and takes possession of a target and decays said target from the inside out. He fought in the Second Shinobi World War and killed countless shinobi until suffering a fatal wound. _

_ He was healed by Tsunade. _

_ The two established a romantic relationship before and after that particular war. And here's when I run into complications with that information. No one knows exactly what happened between the two of them that caused both her and Shizune to leave over ten years ago, but he's been looking for them ever since. He's had no leads and there aren't any local reports of Tsunade sightings as far as I've seen. _

_ I remember him from stories of my younger years. He was supposed to die in the war. _

_ But he'll be a fine enough Kage. Nothing bad in his history, though I suggest you keep tabs on him just in case. _

_ Suna: no progression. He's just as I've left him and has yet to make amends with his uncle. _

_ Iwa: no progression. The Tsuchikage continues to train him and there's no sign of him wanting to abandon his village. _

_ You've got nothing to worry about. Things are going smoothly on my end. By the way, how have the pills been working? I'd like to hear that they're being used appropriately. _

**~ Marionette**

_\--_

_ They're sleeping pills, not L-pills. Contrary to popular belief, I actually know how to use them. _

_ There also aren't any immediate enemies in Konoha. I'll have eyes on Dan soon enough. As of right now, I'm already monitoring the Uchiha Clan as a whole, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Obito, Danzo, and a few other students in my year. The village is peaceful. _

_ A bit... too peaceful to be comfortable. _

_ Keep your ears open for any new piece of information. _

**~ H.S.**

_\--_

_ Peace isn't a bad thing. I hope you don't forget that. _

_ Remember that you're young again and you don't have anything you've sworn yourself to. You're what, seven years old? Seven year olds aren't supposed to have any obligation to the world. We've already both felt what death is like and have succumbed to the hopelessness. _

_ Start over. Help yourself. Look to the brighter side of things. I don't think we'll ever get this chance again. _

** ~ Marionette **

_\--_

_ If I don't get stronger then I can't protect everyone else form a fate they all could have. It doesn't matter if I have to die all over again for them to be safe because they have to be safe. And they will be. I don't know why we were brought back or who thought it was a great idea for it to be the two of us, but I'm going to make the most of it. _

_ When I was a young girl, I was vain and only cared of how people thought of me. I was weak and only wanted for people to notice my looks. I was never at my best and only did I accept it when I realized people died on my watch because of it. _

_ You saw it for yourself. If Chiyo-baa-sama wasn't there then I would have never stood a chance against you. _

_ Look, I know you're concerned, but I'm not going to let everything happen all over again. _

** ~ H.S. **

_\--_

_ And it won't. I promise. _

_ Life isn't supposed to be a mission. _

** ~ Marionette **

_\--_

_ But mine is. _

** ~ H.S. **

::

"Some of your friends are coming over today, right?" Shikaku asked. He was sat at the kitchen island as his wife Yoshino took out ingredients to make a cake. He made a constant motion to sneak some of the chocolate chips into his mouth, but Yoshino kept smacking his hand with her spoon.

"Yeah," Shikamaru replied as he scratched the back of his head, "it's my turn."

"Turn?"

"We take turns going to each other's places now for studying. First we went to Chouji's. Now it's me."

In all honesty, his son having more friends was a godsend. The boy was more active and was more inclined to do things without his parents having to force him-- something they never thought was possible.

"Do you think they'll enjoy sweets?" Yoshino questioned. After glaring her husband into a pouty, glumly accepting state and moving the chocolate chips to another table, she turned around and preheated the oven. Her son nodded.

"They eat anything. Like potatoes."

"... Potatoes?" Shikamaru sighed.

"It's a really long story."

_Ding-Dong._

The boy padded out of the kitchen and to the front door. Shikaku propped up his chin and watched as his son left the area. He didn't know exactly who was coming over except for Chouji and most likely that Haruno Sakura girl. Still, he was very curious about her. He had yet to find out what it was that caused Shiranui Genma and Morino Ibiki of all people to take an interest in her and bring her under their care.

A prodigy? And she had to be of Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha caliber. Though, he'd never heard of such a phenomenon occurring in the civilian sector.

He straightened in his seat when a flood of voices poured into the house. Shikamaru re-emerged into his parent's sight with a mass of six Academy students following close behind him. Shikaku and Yoshino couldn't restrain their surprise.

_He had this many friends?!_

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, we'll be in the living room," the boy said.

"A-Alright."

His father quickly scanned a critical eye over the mismatched bunch, his incredulity growing with each passing millisecond. The first one to catch his eye was the blonde jinchuriki, happily chatting to Chouji. Naruto, he remembered. He wasn't the scared, timid thing he sometimes spotted ambling alone in public and taking in the villagers hate without backlash.

Second was Fugaku's youngest: Sasuke. For having a high placement in such a prestigious clan, especially in the head household, it was hard to believe that Fugaku would even allow one of his own to mingle with a stretch of different classes. He was talking to Shikamaru and the third person he noticed-- one of the reclusive Aburame. Shino, he presumed. That boy held some odd looking bug in his hand and was explaining something about its functions.

Fourth was the Hyuuga girl. Main house, definitely, and more likely than not the heir. She was a powerful asset as one of Konoha's noble clans and should have a branch member at her side at all times. How was she even allowed to come? Her face was pink as she talked excitedly with the only other girl of the group, Sakura. She was wholly attentive to what her friend was saying.

Which made Shikaku frown the slightest bit.

As she passed the doorway, he sent a nearly invisible shadow thread her direction. His frown deepened when she intentionally sidestepped just a centimeter to the right to avoid it and walk forward like nothing happened. There was a flicker of narrowed green his way before she disappeared from view.

Shikaku rubbed at his chin.

He couldn't let this slip by.

::

Fuck.

She made it even further up on his watchlist. What was she supposed to do? Just let the shadow jutsu catch her and not uphold Ibiki's and Genma's teachings?

Sakura tapped her pencil against her notebook as she casually watched the group study the curriculum. They were working through the set of practice problems she herself had created to steer them towards an A on next week's test. All of them looked engaged enough and were melding well with each other, but she could tell that Sasuke and Naruto were taking it much more serious than the rest of them.

If those two kept this up, then they'd be able to graduate earlier than they did in the other timeline. She leaned to the right.

"Shikamaru, can I use the bathroom?"

He pointed behind him. "To the left of that hallway and the last door on the right.”

Sakura stood and silently made her way out of the living room. Outside, the sun was still high up in the sky. It probably had been an hour or so since they came to the house and she guessed that they had another two or three hours until the study session was over.

Halfway down the hall, she saw Shikaku. He was cross-legged on the back porch and staring out into the vastness of the Nara forest. "Sakura."

"Nara-san."

He lazily raised an arm and motioned two fingers in his direction. She obliged to the simple command and sat down a few feet from him. There was a calm silence around them until Shikaku decided to break it.

"I'm curious. To how all these different Academy students from different backgrounds can come together and work without boundaries. They seven year olds who are still naive about the world despite where they are in society."

She laced her fingers together. "Is that all you're curious about?"

"No," he admitted. She then felt a sharp glance in her direction, "I'm also curious to how advanced one of those seven year olds could be to notice and avoid one of the clan's secret techniques within the span of a second, and how you were able to reach out to six others in such a short period of time. I don't know how you would take it, but I think anyone would be more than suspicious."

Sakura didn't meet his eye, but tilted her head in thought. She took her time to carefully pick out her words.

"I wouldn't call myself suspicious, but more... cognizant. Of my own intellectual acuity and interpersonal skills."

Shikaku noted that she no longer presented herself as one of the Academy students, but rather a seasoned shinobi just as experienced as he.

"How?"

"I'm young, Nara-san, as you can clearly see. But I'd like to consider myself a quick, observant learner. When I was five, I was able to cultivate my own transportation-protection seals from studying ones akin to the Hiraishin. The ones the Yondaime utilized."

It wasn't a lie. During the war, the intelligence faction were scrambling and working together to find a way to somehow combat the space-time ninjutsu that the sharingan users employed. In her spare time, she would contribute to these studies to try and advance their favor. Most of her learning occurred after the medical unit bombing.

His face was drenched in pure shock, yet she continued. "Not too long after, I met Naruto. Shy and aggressive; of course he was. People treat him like he's the plague. Why do they act like that? What brought them on to hate a helpless little boy? The only way to find out the right answers is to ask the right questions. So I did. I approached people of all ages and backgrounds and asked them what they valued and what they feared. Merchants, the elderly, little kids, civilians, shinobi, teachers, strippers, sex workers..."

That agglomeration of people she mentioned had been those very same types she met on a three week assignment to Konoha. She handled numerous cases while she was there and met quite a number of interesting souls. Listening to their stories really opened her mind to their perception of the world.

"You learn a lot about a person when you ask them those two things. You learn that no one is ever the same and you can't talk with a mentality that everyone's going to be okay with what you say. So with that in mind, I learned how to approach a variety of others and brought them together based on a common goal. Then everything else will follow."

Sakura turned her head."Does that answer your question, Nara-san?"

::

"It was wonderful meeting all of you." Yoshino smiled. The diverse group of kids were sat on the ground as they pulled on their sandals and prepared themselves to leave. They eventually stood and presented their cheery faces up to her.

"Thank you for having us!" they chorused. The front door popped open and they trickled out, saying their goodbyes to Shikamaru and waving as they left. Shikaku hung just a little bit behind his wife and son, deep concentration swimming in his eyes.

_What happened to that girl?_

::

They all split to go to their respective homes once they arrived at their first meeting spot. Sakura, though, accompanied Hinata back to the Hyuuga Estate because she promised Hiashi that she'd bring his daughter back before dark. Now that she thought about it, her meeting with him could've gone better.

_"Who are you?"_

_Sakura's face was blank as she regarded the Hyuuga Head in a respectful manner and bowed her head. His pearly white eyes narrowed at the sight of her._

_"Haruno Sakura, sir. I'm a friend of Hinata's and I'm here to pick her up," she replied. Hiashi's narrowed even further, scanning the seven year old from her bright pink hair to her arm bandages, then to the weights around her ankles. She didn't look like much, but he knew appearances could be deceiving. He, being one of the most able-bodied shinobi in sensing chakra even without the Byakugan, could see the immensely great chakra control this girl possessed._

_"And you're a classmate of her's as well."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Why are you in her year if you're so advanced?"_

_She twitched. She knew there wasn't anything wrong behind his questioning, but he just happened to be one of the more prideful and less polite of the clan heads. She put up a small smile and tightly held her hands behind her back. "I'm not sure I understand your question."_

_"I will not repeat myself."_

_Sakura's jaw shifted, causing Hiashi to raise an eyebrow._

_"... I'm not interested in getting ahead for my own personal gain, Hyuuga-sama. There are two others I want to graduate alongside," she said. She profusely thanked her lucky stars when Hinata came to the door, stopping her father from asking any more questions. "It was nice meeting you, sir. I'll be sure to bring her back safe and sound."_

_"Hm."_

_"Sorry for ma-making you wait, S-Sakura-san!" Hinata exclaimed. Sakura waved her off before bowing to Hiashi and leaving with her. She could feel his burning gaze on her back until she was far off from the estate._

"Tha-Thank you for walking me back," Hinata stammered. She took a key from her pocket and opened her front door, shyly avoiding the other girl's affable stare. Sakura grinned and tousled her short black hair, laughing when her face flamed up.

"It's no problem. Have a good evening, Hinata."

"Y-Y-You too, Sak-kura-san!"

Sakura ambled away from the estate with her hands stuffed in her pockets and a careless expression on her face. She had a lot of time to spare since her parents were having the day to themselves since it was their wedding anniversary (she made the two of them a big breakfast to celebrate before leaving for the Academy), and there was no need for her at the T&I building today.

Just as she was about to leave the reaches of the Hyuuga Estate, she passed by a boy a little taller than herself. He cast her a sidelong glance, distrusting and piercing, before furthering his steps and turning into the residence.

Neji. Cold as ever.

She always wondered about that.

Sakura tucked that piece of information at the back of her mind and wandered into the busy Konoha streets. None of her summons had anything to report and just recently she had sent one of them out to try and see if they could seek any trail of Tsunade. Perhaps she could go ask Nekomata for help? He was the boss of the ninneko underworld and was bound so know something.

"Sakura-chan?"

She looked over her shoulder to see Dan, a positive smile on his face.

"Ah, so it is! I suppose it would be since I haven't come to know any other pink-haired Academy students," he said. There was a small collection of books held in one arm. "How has your day been?"

"Fine. I haven't done much. And you, Kato-san?"

He gestured to the books in his grip.

"I've been doing some cleaning at my place and stumbled across some interesting books. I was going to drop these off at the Archives... but now that I think about it, maybe you can find some use in them. Well, this one, at least," he decided. Dan handed her an old, timeworn journal that she immediately began to eye with interest.

"Whose is it?"

"Uzumaki Mito's. Maybe you've heard of her? The wife of the Shodai Hokage?"

She turned the cover to a yellowed page, gazing at the incredibly neat handwriting. Uzumaki. She was a revered fuuinjutsu user and the first jinchuriki for the nine-tails.

"I have. She was the first person to seal—" Sakura stopped. Dan leaned forward curiously, head tilted to the side.

"Seal...?"

She shut the book and looked up at him with blank eyes. "Seal chakra well enough to form the Yin Seal on her forehead. I've read about it, and heard that it's the pinnacle of chakra control. I imagine she was an amazing kunoichi.”

His smile stayed true and apparent on his face. "I'm sure she was."

She looked back down to the journal. "Are you sure this is alright for me to have?"

"Of course! I went through it already and it's perfectly fine for you to read through," he answered. Sakura thumbed through it for a few seconds before nodding.

"I'll make sure to take care of it. Thank you, Kato-san."

They talked for a little while longer before Sakura bid him goodbye and went on her way home. Once she was gone, Dan's smile slowly slipped off his face as he changed his original route towards the Hokage Tower.

He knew _exactly_  what she was going to say.

And he didn't know how to feel about that.

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	22. Ceremonious

Class was out early today so that everyone would be able to attend one of the country's most important ceremonies: the inauguration of the next Hokage: The Godaime.

Sakura stayed at the edges of the large crowd, lingering away from others and taking refuge in the shadow of the weapon's shop. The Sandaime was giving a speech about Konoha and how it was a great Hidden Village that needed a great leader to lead them forward even more so than they already were. Mito's journal was kept between her folders, bookmarked on the explanation of how she managed to seal all of the Kyuubi within herself, by herself.

Mito's work was her heaven-sent. Here, she would have a reason to regaining her Yin seal. She had already begun the process of collecting chakra in  _ two _ places on her body; the center of her forehead and the base of her spine above the tailbone. That way, she'd have even more of an expansive chakra reserve to dip into. With her past experiences and her knowledge of the technique, she deduced that it would take her at least an entire year to build them up enough to where they'd start showing. Of course, this meant that she would have to not use chakra on a normal basis if she wanted to pull this off smoothly.

So stamina taijutsu training it was.

Up on the Hokage Tower, Dan stepped into view. Once he arrived at the railing, he regarded the sea of people with a wide smile. His voice boomed over the vast audience for a while before they erupted into applause and cheers.

There wasn't anything wrong with him taking up the position, it just... Sakura didn't know how to feel about it. That was Tsunade's spot he was taking and she had yet to discover how his morals were aligned. What changes would be made to Konoha's policies? How different were the genin teams going to be arranged, or, would there be anything that would change?

Too many questions swirled uncomfortably in her mind and she didn't like the state it left her in. The other changes of this timeline were doable, for they didn't necessarily sway personalities or attitudes. She knew her and Sasori would alter the course to make for a better future, but she didn't want to speculate too much on things they couldn't control—and she hated that.

She suddenly felt a prickly feeling at the back of her neck.

Sakura's eyes snapped above her to scan the ledges and rooftops for any sign of life. There would be tons of ANBU lurking, no doubt, to act as security measures for the ceremony. But that didn't give an excuse as to why one of them kept their eyes on her longer than necessary. Now feeling unsafe, she slipped from her cover beside the building to walk the alleyways towards her home.

::

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he stood on the other side of the building from where he kept his post. His porcelain dog mask kept strapped to his face, hiding the constant inscrutable nature of his expression. But even this time he couldn't help but shift his jaw and glance back to where he once was.

The girl saw him.

That little, no-name Academy student knew he was there.

That was impossible. Should someone like her exist, he thought that all upper-ranked shinobi should've been informed of her. And from the looks of it, she didn't come from any well-known shinobi family. If she were, then he was assured he would've caught wind of her one way or another. Unless they were keeping her off the radar?

He silently flickered back to that girl's previous location after he was sure she had left. He knew that she wasn't supposed to be any of his concern, and that he was here for one reason and one reason only, but...

Kakashi looked to the Hokage Tower. The ceremony had just ended, leaving him to report back his findings to his superior.

He then looked the direction the girl left.

...

His superior could wait. Just this once. 

Driven by suspicion, Kakashi took to the rooftops and trailed after her. The girl took an unusual route of alleys and backlots to reach the civilian sector and enter one of the apartment complexes. He watched her from a far off distance, letting a frown befall his lips. So that's how it was; how foolish of him to think otherwise. He turned his back on the complex, taking one last glimpse at it before returning to HQ.

The girl was more than likely one of those unfortunate enough to carry the title of prodigy.

::

Ibiki took a rag from his back pocket to wipe the blood from his hands and the small spatter on his cheek. The action itself wasn't tedious, but it took time to weed the information they wanted out of the person they were working on. That meant he had even more papers piled up for him, inevitably doubling his desk work.

Sometimes it sucked being the T&I Director. In addition to all the extra time he was putting in, he now had to deal with the matter of his dwindling interrogation force. There just weren't enough efficient bodies for the job and lately, they've had a surge of shinobi in need of "questioning". Hell, all their holding cells were filled! He was lucky he had the tokubetsu jounin to try to subdue the problem.

It was hard to get people into the force. Shinobi they might be, but many of them still stood by the fact that one shouldn't torture a person for information. Konoha shinobi held a sort of honor to them, believing that there shouldn't be blood on their hands where blood wasn't due. It was a downfall in Ibiki's eyes. Konoha was too nice and peace-loving where only the elite had the mental capability to get the job done.

He paused for a moment when a pair of calculative green eyes flashed in his mind.

No, he couldn't do that.

... Could he?

When thinking of suitable candidates for recruitment, he could help himself from thinking of his student. Sakura was supposed to be exclusive in intelligence because of her advanced smarts and talent. That was all. But her abnormal ability didn't just have to apply to one specialized part of the sector. One could plainly see that she could be lethal with any path, or paths, she chose.

Her parents wouldn't agree to it, surely. Mebuki and Kizashi were law abiding citizens with good hearts that wanted nothing but the best for their daughter.

"Shiranui," Ibiki said as he entered his office. Genma looked up from his spot on the couch, capping his pen and rolling the scroll on his lap.

"Yeah?"

"How is Sakura progressing in her physical training?" he asked. The other man leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms over his head.

"Man, I feel like there's nothing to teach the kid. Remember what I told you before? Was able to tree walk her first try, walked on water the first try, created three clones on her second try, has 100% throwing accuracy-- I bet her that if she was able to use the Shinju Zanshu Jutsu, you know the one where you hide underground and pull your enemy neck deep into the ground, that I would buy her lunch for a whole week. Brat caught me not even an hour after the training session," he grumbled. "She's a freakin' machine. I don't know, I think we're gonna have to up her lessons to jounin level."

Ibiki sat behind his desk and began to slowly tap his fingers on the wooden surface. "And we will."

Genma moved his attention to his friend. There was a contemplative gleam to the interrogator's face, one people rarely saw. He hadn't known Ibiki too well until he discovered Sakura and directed her to the first person he thought could handle her. That probably wasn't the best course of action, he admitted, but it all worked out in the end as far as he was concerned. In the year and a half he began to get to know the guy, he'd been able to pick out some tells about what he might be thinking.

That expression right now, for example, was far from good.

He sat up immediately, a grave look on his face.

"Morino-san, she's  _ seven _ . Putting her in intelligence was one thing—one big-ass leap at that—and you know we barely scraped by with it. But interrogation? Sorry to say, but that's kind of real fucked up."

Ibiki sighed. "I know it sounds bad—"

"No kidding."

"—but think about it. Sakura's unnaturally gifted with both brains and brawn. You think she'll be beneath everyone's notice? The second she graduates, her files will be available to every elite who wants a look. Her internship, grades, abilities, observations, everything will be listed. You know well enough that either ROOT or Team Ro will come to try and stuff her into their ranks."

Genma lips thinned at the thought.

"Not to mention her mental stability. You've noticed it, haven't you?" Ibiki questioned. "She always looks like she's been to hell and back, adding to the fact that she rarely gets any sleep."

They could clearly see it in her face every time they saw her. Something in her had broken, and whatever it was looked like it was eating her very being. They hadn't conducted a mental health assessment on her yet but they could safely say that there was a diagnosis that needed to be made.

"You think that torturing people is going to be a good outlet for her?"

"If not that, what else do you think she's going to do? I'm not saying we should make her an interrogator full time, but the option should be opened. Give her choices. Let her grow in several different reaches. Then she'll become a well-rounded shinobi that'll help her survive the fucked world we're getting her into."

Genma exhaled harshly and flopped back against the couch. "I hate you sometimes."

::

Mebuki hummed a quiet tune as she unlocked the door of the apartment and stepped through the threshold. She spotted Sakura's sandals neatly set beside the entryway. She'd almost forgotten that her daughter would be home right after the ceremony wrapped up. And really, she didn't expect that of her. Sakura rarely went straight home from school, opting to make sure her friends got back safely, study with Morino-san and Shiranui-san, or stop by the library.

Well, if Sakura was happy, she was happy.

She set her pair of shoes beside the smaller ones and placed her things down before heading towards Sakura's room. Mebuki knocked twice then peeked inside, smiling when she saw her little girl working away on her bed.

"Welcome back, kaa-san."

"I'm back, sweetheart!" she exclaimed. Her eyes swept around the room, heart clenching at what she saw. The shelves that used to be filled with small trinkets and plushies now held weapon care kits and books; books that were titled things such as  _ Higher Level Chakra Control _ ,  _ The Basics of Healing _ ,  _ Herbs Around the Elemental Nations _ ,  _ The Code of Medical Shinobi _ , and  _ Advanced Seals _ . Mebuki's gaze moved to the study desk. Once, it a place always kept neat and clean because it had no real use in the past. Now, it was a mess of inked paper and notes that she was sure she herself would never understand.

"... Did you eat already?" she questioned. She willed herself to keep up an easy smile as she went further into the room to sit at the edge of the bed.

"Not yet."

"Oh? Then how about we go over to your tou-san's restaurants and have lunch?"

"Okay. May I finish this work first?"

Mebuki smoothed down vibrant pink hair and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Of course you can," she said. She glanced at the work in her small hands, seeing the vast mathematical calculations befitting of someone with a civilian college degree. It pained her to think that her baby was not a child any longer, and that there really wasn't any left to call her childhood a normal one. Mebuki placed a second kiss atop the fluff of hair before leaving and quietly closing the door behind her.

In doing so, she missed the apologetic look plastered to her retreating form.

_ 'I'm sorry I'm not the daughter you wanted, kaa-san. But I can't afford to mess up this time.' _

::

"Gaara-sama!" Komushi exclaimed. He placed both hands on his hips and looked around the Kazekage household. He was sent over to check on the youngest son because he hadn't been seen around for a couple of days. This was a regular occurrence, but since he had such a powerful being within himself, he had to be checked on by an elite shinobi on a routine basis.

"Gaara-sama, are you home?!"

He turned the knob of each door and peeked into the rooms for a few seconds before moving on to the next. At the second to last door he checked, he had to think for some moments as he backtracked and re-opened it. The room was free of clutter and practically devoid of personality. A bed and a nightstand were placed against one wall, a wardrobe sat by the wall across from it, but no pictures or posters to be seen. A sad looking place to be.

Though the one thing that caught his attention was the single object sitting on the nightstand. Komushi picked it up with shaking hands, holding it up to the light to make sure it really was what he thought it to be.

"Hiruko's prototype," he whispered. "Sasori took it when he left, w-why...?"

There was an engraving of a scorpion on the puppet's leg; Sasori's signature. Gaara wasn't supposed to be in possession of a foreign item, this one especially, as the only way he could've possibly obtained it by being gifted...

Komushi carefully set the puppet back in its place and hastily left the room.

::

"Haruno Sakura."

"Here."

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"H-Here!"

"Inuzuka Kiba."

...

Iruka looked around the chatter filled room to see an empty desk near the window. He sighed as he marked the absent box on his roster. Kiba was one of the lower-performing students in class, earning lots of D's and F's on both assignments and tests. Mostly tests. He knew the boy was ditching school rather than being sick because he did make it a habit to cut class after lunch hour every now and then, and it only got worse once he was given Akamaru.

"Do you want me to get him, sensei?"

He looked at Sakura. "Huh?"

"Do you want me to get him?" she repeated. "Kiba, I mean. I might know where he'd be."

Iruka scratched the back of his head. There'd be no real use of keeping her in class, would there? She would get perfect marks regardless of what she was given and was the most physically fit of everyone in class. There were even a few moments after the last bell where she'd come up to his desk and give pointers on the lessons and what he should do with them.

He cracked a sheepish grin. "Would you, please?"

She nodded and removed herself from her seat. Naruto leaned over his desk, pouting when she started walking towards the door.

"Sakura-chaaaaan, where're you goin'?" he whined.

"I'll be right back, Naruto," she said. Sakura slipped into the hallway and outside the Academy's front doors.

She was never that close to Kiba. They were acquaintances at best, talking more to each other during the war because of their roles. He worked as one of the Allied Force's messengers and she would be the one of the receiving ends of his rounds. Normally, he was the one who went from infirmary camp to infirmary camp to be the medics' connecting voice.

He was a short-tempered and impulsive person, but he was of the kind sort and completed his duties with vigor.

_ "Here's the inventory list from Camp B, Sakura!" _

_ "Thank you Kiba-san, Akamaru. Want to stay for lunch? Some traveling chefs stopped by with a generous donation of meats." _

_ "Aw, hell yeah!" _

She turned a corner to the largest market plaza of the village. It wasn't that busy this early on one of the weekdays, it also being only a few days after the Kage ceremony. Arms crossed over her chest, she relaxed slightly ( _ only slightly _ ) to expand her senses and try to pinpoint Kiba's distinct chakra reading. Sakura suddenly flinched when she caught wind of an incredibly powerful signature approaching her from behind.

"Could you be Sakura-san?"

She grit her teeth as she turned around at a normal pace, her eyes fearlessly raising to who called her out.

Uchiha Itachi peered down at her.

"That's me. You must be Sasuke's older brother—Itachi-san, right?" she replied. Sakura nearly flinched a second time when he smiled.

"You'd be correct. Why aren't you at the Academy? Classes have barely started and I doubt Umino-san would let his students leave unattended."

She was aware that his eyes had gone down to observe her hands, most likely because of the use of arm wrappings at her young age. If she could take a guess, she would say that he probably could tell that she wore concealed wrist blades. 

"I'm looking for a classmate. He has a tendency to skip out and is on the verge of having the word 'truant' in his files. Have you seen an Inuzuka around? One with a small, tannish-white dog."

Itachi pointed towards the east. "He was walking down to the sunflower beds, I believe. I suggest you catch up to him before he decides to leave.”

Sakura nodded. "Thank you. I guess I'll be seeing you around, Itachi-san."

She shunshinned from her spot, leaving the elder boy with a curious look on his face.

::

Kiba was indeed at the sunflower beds. He and Akamaru were sprawled out on the ground facing the sun with peaceful expressions on their faces. She halted her movement towards them, an involuntary frown surfacing onto her lips.

They looked happy, and she wanted to leave them as such.

She then heard an annoyed sigh.

"Shouldn't  _ you _ be at school?" Kiba grumbled.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she answered. "I told sensei I'd bring you back to class. You've been missing a lot of lessons."

"So what? I ain't good at that kind of stuff and it's not like I'll get better at it anyways. I ain't like you either, always being smarter and stronger than everyone else. I know I can't ever be like that so I'm not gonna try," he huffed. Akamaru picked up his head gave a high pitched whine, causing the boy to shoot up into a sitting position.

"Huh? Whose side are you on?!"

Sakura unconsciously started rubbing her neck. So it was sort of her fault, eh? Of course it was. She took a few more steps and took a seat next to him. "You could always ask for help."

He whipped his head around to narrow his eyes at her. "What're you talking about?"

"I could help you with the work. Or,  _ we _ . Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Hinata, and I. It's good to work in groups sometimes and not just be on your own," she smiled. "Our study group's meeting up again this Friday after class. You and Akamaru are more than welcome."

Akamaru popped up to his feet and barked happily, tongue hanging out of his mouth. Kiba's stare lingered on his best friend's for a few moments before relenting.

" _ Fine. _ But I'm not gonna go back to class today."

Sakura stood and dusted herself off. "You are."

"Then make me."

...

And that's how one hour into Iruka's lecture, the door was thrown open and Sakura casually strolled in with Kiba thrown over her shoulder—him yelling at her to put him down because  _ dammit _ , he got the point. 

Akamaru trotted behind them, tail wagging enthusiastically. 

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**

 


	23. Loss

**Warning: Multiple Mentions of Implied Rape, much like what occurred in the chapter _Fire_. But worse.**

::

_"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Obito sneered, fingers digging into Sakura's bleeding, skinless neck. Even with pain filling her from her head to her toes, she looked up at him with teary eyes and mustered up the strength to spit in his face._

_"Fuck... you..."_

_He laughed._

_"Haven't you already?"_

_And the black fire swirled around them, with blistering heat seeping into the hatred that emanated between them. She could see the darkness growing in her peripheral vision, slowly crawling from tree to tree and darkening--_

Sakura woke up.

Her room was dark, illuminated only by the moonlight that poured in through her window. Her clothes, a simple ensemble of a loose tank top and spandex shorts, were completely soaked through with her sweat. Red lines were littered all over her neck as a result of the unconscious and relentless scratching she had done in her sleep.

It was two in the morning and she knew that she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep. Sakura held a glowing green hand to her torn skin as she slid off the bed and went to let fresh air into her room. She then plopped down on the window seat and leaned against the wall, using her free hand to rub at the dark bags under her eyes.

Sometimes she wondered why she was one of the two sent back in time. Why her? Why the one who couldn't make a change to anything in the first timeline? If anything, Naruto should've been the one given the opportunity to fix the world. He was the chosen one. Always had been, always will be.

Even  _Sasuke_  would've been hell of a better choice than her. And he tried to kill her once.

She heaved a heavy sigh and sunk further against the wall. She was eight years old now, but it felt like she was in her 20's again—that jaded individual that had nothing else to lose.

She honestly hoped that Sasori was having a much better time on his end.

"Sakura-san."

Turning her head, she saw Yori on the pillow beside her. A rolled note lay in the pincer he offered up to her.

"Thank you. All good news from him, I hope," she said. Yori moved itself at an angle, looking suspiciously doubting for an arachnid.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it... good," he murmured. Sakura repressed the urge to groan as she reluctantly opened it.

_ Apparently, the Godaime Kazekage ran away. _

She blinked.

::

Sasori didn't know how to take this situation. He and Orochimaru had taken a quick mission on Wind Country's border where they'd caught wind of a small panic within the Sunagakure area. Gaara would normally have moments where he'd disappear for a few days at a time, reappearing when his caretakers would look for him under the order of his father. But two weeks had passed since last anyone had seen him.

It was an ANBU who made the report this time, and all elite were supposed to be on the lookout for the eight year old boy.

"That's unfortunate," Orochimaru hummed from his seat in the late-night cafe. Sasori was across from him, a calculating look in his eyes. "We should keep a look out for the boy. He holds the Ichibi inside him, no?"

The shorter man said nothing, merely glancing at their surroundings. The sannin sighed and leaned back against his chair. Three years had passed since Sasori suddenly lost his sanity. No one knew what it was because he was perfectly competent in fighting and completing his missions, but sometimes he had to wonder what the hell was going through his head.

"Are you listening to me?"

Sasori pointed to the walls. "I appreciate this coral color, but I think a mantis green would look better with the cafe layout," he commented as he tilted his head.

Orochimaru hung his head. "I worry about you sometimes. Honestly."

As he let the matter go and continued to eat his dish, Sasori drew himself back to what he was really thinking about. The last time he paid him a visit was about two months ago. Nothing seemed wrong with him. Well, nothing more than from what regularly troubled him.

He stood. "Our mission's in a few days, right? Don't expect to see me until then."

Sasori grabbed his straw hat and cloak before leaving the establishment. He wanted to find Gaara as quickly as possible to ensure his safety and make sure that no one could capture him for their own destructive purposes. Not that they really could, considering Shukaku wouldn't let a damn thing happen to his host.

He took to the tree tops and began his search towards Sunagakure. He couldn't have gotten far at any circumstance. Gaara was a small, completely inexperienced individual who more than likely had a limited knowledge on chakra and didn't know how to mold it correctly.

He frowned as he pulled out a small tag, slicing the skin of his thumb and rubbing it on the seal as he ran. There was a small puff of air before a sleek brown cat appeared in midair. It hissed as it narrowly avoided smashing into a tree.

" _What_  is  _this_?!" Kou exclaimed, appalled at what almost happened to him, "If you need to summon me, you could've been the least bit considerate and  _stopped_ , Sasori-kun! I just had my luxurious fur cleaned and brushed, nya!"

"Sorry. I need you to do something for me, please."

The cat kept up pace with his summoner, tail fluffed up and head held high. "Fine, but there better be some hamachi in my near future," he sniffed. Sasori waved a hand and kept moving from tree to tree.

"I need you to look for a red haired boy—eight years old, black rings around his eyes, and tailed beast chakra inside him. Don't approach him, just inform me of his whereabouts," he said. Kou nodded and disappeared to fulfill his duty.

Gaara. Still, he hadn't reached back out to Yashamaru and still hadn't built a connection with his father. He was starting to worry about the deeper emotional bonds the boy wasn't making. He knew that he had two older siblings, Temari and Kankuro, but Gaara never mentioned their names whenever they met up with each other. He felt that he was being too relied upon and that he would be the only receiving end of Gaara's emotion relief. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, it was just that it wasn't safe for the boy's general well-being.

Sasori jumped down onto the ground when the forests ended, meeting the endless hills of sand. A warm breeze blew through his cloak as his eyes grazed over the darkened horizon. It still had to be early morning. Four o'clock, maybe.

He really hoped Gaara was safe.

"Sasori-kun~!"

He turned around, seeing Kou on a tree branch.

"You're going the wrong way! The child made it outside the border and isn't looking too well."

Brown eyes narrowed. "Show me."

Forty minutes passed when he was led to the base of a cliff edge. The smell of blood immediately invaded his nose, making even him cringe at the intensity. Dead hunter-nins turned the ground red as Gaara curled in on himself, shaking and head buried in his knees. Like the time he first saw him.

"Gaara?" he called out softly. The shaking stopped, "Gaara, are you alright?"

The boy's head slowly raised. Sea foam green eyes turned into slits. " _You._ "

An enormous arm of sand shot in his direction. Sasori narrowly avoided the attack and watched as it burst through a line of trees.

"You lied to me!"

The arm swept sideways in an attempt to collide with the Akatsuki member.

"You're not Hiruko, you're Sasori! You're a criminal! You left Suna years ago! Why did you come back and talk to me?! Why?!"

Another sand arm came at him. Sasori silently cursed himself as he dodged the appendages relentlessly trying to kill him. Puppets would be useless against the opponent, and he was at a loss of what to do. Fuck, he never should have lied like that. It was even against his own previous beliefs.

"You want to kill me, don't you? You want to kill me just like Yashamaru did!"

The arms grew out into spikes and tried to puncture through the older man. Sasori jumped onto the sand creation and ran up the length, using a kunai to deflect the sharp pinpoint attacks.

"You kept telling me to forgive them! You said you believed in me! Why?! Why you?! You-- You and Yashamaru are the same!"

Claws emerged from the sand extensions and swiped at him. It missed, just barely, and smacked into the cliff side.

"You're all LIARS!" Gaara roared. When Sasori narrowly escaped being thrown into the rock formation, he caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes. They were angry and terribly betrayed, hitting him harder than any attack could. It distracted him enough to get hit by the second sand arm as it rained from above and slammed him onto the ground. Red liquid erupted from his mouth as the sand clung to him, growing tighter and tighter to cut off his oxygen supply.

"G-Gaara..." he gasped. His gaze strained to angle at the boy's location. The cliff the eight year old pushed himself up to began to crumble from the previous impact it suffered. The top of it cracked bit by bit until the very tip began to slide off.

"Shit!"

He tried to pull himself free of his hardened confines. Gaara looked up, complete and utter terror crossing his features. The fear must've made his Shukaku-laden attacks weaken because Sasori was able to rip himself free and run to grab the Kazekage's son—taking the boy into his arms before he could be crushed to death. His back cracked against the back of a tree, him holding the small body against his chest.

Sasori slid down onto the grass with more blood dribbling down his chin. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Gaara said nothing, though his arms slowly reached up and wrapped around the man's neck. He then dug his face into his collarbone. Sasori threaded his fingers through Gaara's hair, murmuring soothingly to calm him down. "I'll get you back home, okay?"

The muted echo of sobs filled the forest, the sun rising steadily in the distance.

::

_"Isn't this fun?"_

_"Stop... ghk... talking... monST—"_

_A hand pressed onto Sakura's mouth to stop her screams._

Sakura sat in front of the door, pulling on her sandals and checking to see if her bandages were wrapped correctly. Kizashi came around the corner with a huge grin on his face.

"Off to another day at the Academy, eh?"

She stood up and hoisted her shoulder bag on her shoulder, then smiled up at her ever-cheerful father. He always managed to be happy regardless of the circumstance and was always able to light up the room when people were down. "Yeah. Then I'm going to my friend Kiba's for the study group after school," she replied. Mebuki came around the corner next with a demeanor equally as bright as her husband's.

"Then you're heading to your other friend... Hinata-chan's house for a sleepover?" she questioned. The two didn't notice the odd gleam in their daughter's eyes before she nodded.

"Mm. I'll be back tomorrow morning, I promise."

Her father reached over and tousled her hair. "Have fun, kiddo," he bid. Sakura adjusted the strap on her shoulder as she opened the front door. She was thankful her parents were rather ignorant on shinobi affairs, seeing that Hiashi would never let an outsider stay over at the Hyuuga Estate.

"Oh, and Sakura!"

She looked over her shoulder.

"We love you, sweetheart," Mebuki smiled. Sakura couldn't keep the warmth out of her chest as a grin of her own involuntarily made its way onto her face.

"I love you too."

She stepped out the door and closed it behind her. As she walked down the hall, she waved at Akiyama-san then walked down the stairs of the complex. She saw both Naruto and Sasuke waiting for her once she was out of the building.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled. "It was my idea to pick you up, dattebayo!"

Sasuke glared at him. "No it wasn't, dobe!" he protested. Naruto's smile fell off his face as he whipped towards the other boy.

"Call me dobe ONE more time—!"

Sakura sighed. In a content sort of way.

Maybe today wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

::

"Morino-san, I'm sorry—"

"He was a good kid."

"I can't believe he would've—"

"He didn't deserve—"

"What happened to Idate wasn't your fault."

Ibiki had just returned from a mission regarding the theft of a classified scroll and a legendary lightning chakra sword at the hands of his younger brother. That boy, who failed his chuunin exams and went against it, had been the one to go against his own village. Ibiki immediately knew that something was wrong and went to seek out the truth for himself.

It wasn't long until he found out everything was orchestrated by former Konoha shinobi Rokusho Aoi.

But even when he went after his brother and sought to bring him home, one thing led to another and he arrived at Konoha's gates alone and empty handed. His teammates were dead and so was his brother.

He failed. Horribly, miserably, unforgivably.

Ibiki toyed with a pen on his desk, staring blankly at the empty paper in front of him. He was fresh out of the hospital and covered from head to toe in bandages, mostly obscured by his baggy clothing. He didn't look any different or out of the ordinary, save for a new face scar, and he really had to chalk it up to his hard-earned skills in interrogation.

"Morning, Morino-san." Genma entered the office with his typical senbon stuck out of his mouth. He raised a hand in a lazy greeting and took a seat on the couch. "Sorry about Idate.”

Ibiki should his head as he opened his drawer, sifting around and avoiding making eye contact. "He wasn't cut out to be a shinobi anyways."

The tokubetsu jounin said nothing in return, understanding completely. Ibiki took out a notepad and Sakura's decently thick file. He flipped it open to the first page—a short biography and outdated description.

"Did you talk to Sakura about her new practice?" he questioned. "I need to get her scheduled for both a physical and psychological examination. The year we agreed to wait on passed a week ago."

Genma paused as he scratched the back of his head. "Already? Damn..." He sighed, flopping backwards in exasperation at the stare in his direction. "Fine! I'll ask her tomorrow."

"Hm."

They lapsed into a wave of silence, Genma with his eyes closed to catch up on some sleep and Ibiki with his thoughts he would never admit as guilt.

::

_Her throat burned. Not just from the skin that was ripped off, but also from the exhaustion of her incessant snarls and enraged resistance. Obito still had her pinned to her ground, unconcerned with the scratch marks on his cheeks and forearms._

_"Pathetic."_

_"Shut the fuck up."_

_She wheezed when he increased pressure on her chest. Her vision went blurry for a split second before refocusing on his cruel crimson eyes. She could see the reflection of fire in his irises as they lit up in glee._

_"Now, now, Sakura-chan. No need to be so rude. We've already..._ connected _, haven't we?"_

_He leaned forward so that the tip of their noses were nearly touching._

_"Or should I enlighten you again?"_

"Sakura-chan!"

She turned to Naruto. He gripped the straps of his green backpack in the group of eight babbling Academy on their way to the Inuzuka House. Kiba was talking to Hinata and letting her hold Akamaru in her arms. Chouji and Shino were enjoying the comforting silence they shared between each other. Sasuke and Shikamaru, surprisingly, were in the midst of a heated argument about if tomatoes were fruits or vegetables.

"What's up?"

"You're goin' to the sky again," he said. He always told her that when she was off in her own world. Sakura smiled and slung an arm over his shoulders, bringing him into a side hug.

"Sorry, sorry."

Naruto frowned. "You've been doin' that a lot... Are you okay?"

She smiled a little wider and pinched his cheeks until he started to whine. He missed the pain that flashed in her face—that fraction of a second where she looked like she was back in the middle of a broken clearing bordered by Amaterasu.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

The group arrived at Kiba's place not too long later. There were four large dogs lazing around the front of the house. They got to their feet at the sight of the bunch of kids led towards the house by Kiba. They circled around the newcomers, poking at them and sizing them up. One of the dogs stood taller than the others with a black patch over its right eye. Kiba turned around to face his now huddled friends.

"The older dog's my kaa-san's partner. He's Kuromaru," he introduced. Kuromaru's bright yellow eye looked at each child individually, lingering on Sakura the longest. "The other three are the Haimaru Brothers: Masaru, Masashi, and Masato. They work with my aneki."

"Are... Are they all this b-big?" Chouji squeaked as Masato leaned in real close to his face. The boy clung onto Shikamaru's shoulder in slight fear.

"Not all of them, but a lot," Kiba replied. Before he turned the doorknob so he could let them into his house, he spun around. "I'm just gonna warn you guys 'bout my kaa-san. She's really tough and all, but she can get a little scary sometimes," he said. Sasuke tilted his head.

"How scary?"

"So scary that tou-san ran away."

Kiba pushed open the door. There were a few smaller dogs in the hallway and an older woman carrying a pug. Inuzuka Tsume, Sakura recalled. Her short brown hair was spiked and wilder than her son's would ever grow to be. The clan's fang markings ran down her cheeks, accentuating her piercing narrow eyes. She grinned at the sight of them.

"Finally doin' some studyin', eh? A miracle." She set the pug down and set her hands on her hips. "And take a look at that bunch with ya! Some strappin' shinobi and kunoichi you'll all turn out to be, I bet."

Tsume's voice easily carried through the house. She sounded strong and confident and definitely not fooled very easily. Kiba turned red at his mother's declaration as he ushered the other seven to the other end of the house.

"We're studyin' in the backyard!"

Sakura was at the rear of the group, allowing Tsume to stop her without really catching the others' attention. The girl looked upward to see that still-feisty grin on the woman's face, but noticed the serious tone that hid behind it.

"You've got a pretty strong cat scent on you."  _You smell like cat summons._

Sakura shrugged. "Konoha has a lot of strays."  _I know._

"What about stray dogs? Still friendly with them?" _Will you be a problem in the future?_

"Of course." _I won't._

Tsume crossed her arms over her chest and peered down at the girl. Sakura stared back, completely unaffected by the fierce stare. "What's your name, kid?"

"Haruno Sakura," she introduced. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

::

Gaara hadn't said a single word since Sasori held him close and told him that he was sorry for what he'd done. He began telling the boy stories about his youth and the reasons why he left his village. He was positive that the words were being heard and that he was slowly beginning to refill that feeling of trust. Sasori wrapped him in the remains of his cloak, Akatsuki clouds shielded from view, and held him in his arms the entire journey.

It was nearly dark at this point. About half the day spent on the road with only each other as company. They'd make it back to Sunagakure by nightfall, he deduced. Just a couple more hours until Gaara would be safe and sound.

"Are you hungry?" Sasori questioned, "It'll still be a while until I get you back. We could even go get your favorite. Salted beef tongue, right?"

He felt a minuscule nod against his shoulder. Sasori patted Gaara's back as he changed his route to the nearest restaurant he could stop at. The bundle shifted for a moment before a pair of misty eyes poked out from the mess of dark red hair. They were obviously puffy even though they were naturally rimmed with black.

"Sa... Sasori?"

Sasori paused and used his hand to brush the kid's bangs away from his face. "Hm?"

"... Don't lie anymore, okay?"

The Akatsuki member hugged him, eyes shadowing over in guilt. “Okay."

::

_"Maybe I should've put you through Tsukuyomi. But then again, I don't think I'd be having as much fun as I am now. Why just hurt someone mentally when you can do it physically as well?" Obito grinned. He waited for that haughty retort-- that wrathful counter that kept him going to inflict more and more pain on her. But there was nothing. He looked into her eyes and saw that they were blank._

_Dead._

_And it made him want to laugh._

_"So you give up here? Twelve hours into our quaint get together?"_

_Dulled green eyes flickered to his._ _"Why don't you just kill me already, Uchiha? You've won. You've had your fill."_

_He raised an eyebrow._ _"Had my fill?" he repeated, flashing pearly white teeth. "No, no. I don't think you understand."_

"We defeated evil, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. He stood and shot his hands towards the sky, then glaring triumphantly at the five homemade worksheets they'd all just completed. They were all sprawled on the grass surrounded by enormous numbers of Inuzuka dogs. The sunlight was orange and the clouds were pink, telling them all that it was about time to get home.

"We were distracted for an hour," Shino commented. Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"We still did it, so it's fine!"

Sasuke was busy organizing his notebooks and papers in his book bag, pouting the whole while and mumbling to himself. "I can't believe tomato's a fruit..."

Kiba nearly threw his binder at him as Shikamaru hung his head and sighed.

"Freakin' shut up already!"

Chouji stood and dusted the grass off his pants. Then, he helped Hinata to her feet and gave her a wide smile. "You're really good at those math problems. I didn't know you could use a shortcut like that," he said. Hinata lit up immensely.

"I-I liked how you did t-the science o-ones!"

Sakura unearthed herself from the heap of dogs that vowed to 'remove the cat stink', as Kiba translated, and had piled on her the entire study session. She stared at all the fur that stuck to her clothes, making an irked note that she seriously had to wash them when she got home tomorrow. The eight of them went through all the pleasantries of thanking Tsume for letting them come over and telling Kiba they'd see him at school on Monday. The group slowly broke up to go their own ways, though none of them noticed how Sakura went a completely different route than usual.

There was only one reason why she lied to her parents about staying at the Hyuuga Estate. This day would mark one of the most important days she had to keep an extraordinarily close eye on to make sure nothing could go wrong or that she could stop the proceedings in time, if they ever happened.

Because this was the night of the Uchiha Massacre, or it was supposed to be. She vowed to herself that she would stand guard the entire night to early morning.

Sakura perched herself on a well-leafed tree half a mile away from the compound and settled on a branch, opening a book on her lap to pass the time.

She was going to be here a while.

::

Sunagakure was just in the distance, Sasori noted with heavy-hearted relief. Gaara had fallen asleep some time ago and he was in the middle of devising a plan on how to return him safely without being caught by the guard. It was nighttime, making guard more high alert than usual. He took a few more steps towards his destination before he stopped.

"Turn around," a voice ordered. " _Now._ "

Sasori complied.

But his blood froze at the sight of the only person in the village to have called him 'friend'. Komushi, the person he remembered poisoning in the other timeline, stood a few meters away armed with a tanto and an unrolled puppet scroll.

"Komushi," he breathed.

"Sasori," the other returned, swallowing down his nostalgia. "Put Gaara-sama down immediately and step away, or I'll be forced to apprehend you."

Sasori's eyes went to stare at the shinobi's right forearm. He remembered making that arm all those years ago in that dark workroom. Why he was alive, he didn't know, but he was glad Komushi was given the life he always deserved.

"Do you still have the arm I made for you?"

The Suna shinobi faltered, then quickly regained his composure. "Sasori, you can't just—"

"Do you?"

Komushi gritted his teeth and exhaled to the side. If this was a diversion it was working well, but he didn't know why the attacks hadn't started yet. "Yeah," he replied, "... I do."

He didn't know what to do when the kindest smile stretched over Sasori's face. In all the years he'd known the man, there wasn't a shred of happiness in him. Not since his parents died. Then up to the point of his defection, he was holed away—alone. Komushi took a step backwards when Sasori began to walk up to him.

"Here."

Sasori carefully handed the boy off, who shifted and blearily cracked open his eyes. Komushi was absolutely stunned to silence when Gaara grabbed the Akatsuki's hand, bottom lip quivering and tears threatening to fall down his cheeks.

"You're gonna go already?" he whimpered. Sasori gently patted his head.

"You know I have to."

He raised his stare to the shell-shocked Kugutsu Butai leader. He moved his hand to pat Komushi's head as well, grinning when absolute fear crossed his old friend's face.

"Take good care of that arm of yours. Maintenance is key."

He was about to shunshin away when his upper arm was caught in a death grip. Komushi stared him down with his bold black eyes, disbelieving and trying to comprehend what was happening before him.

"You..."

Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"You  _can't_  be him. Sasori doesn't smile, he doesn't take care of kids or help them get back when they're lost! He doesn't do things for others just for the fun of it, he—You're not him, are you? Tell me you're not."

Sasori clapped his old friend's white knuckled hand. "Think what you want," he said. In the snap of one's fingers, all that was left of him was a wisp of white smoke. Gaara's attention switched to Komushi and looked at him with pleading eyes. He gripped at the cloak still wrapped around his body.

"Don't tell," he begged. "Don't tell that it was him! He-He found me and saved me and is a really, really good person, okay? Don't tell, Komushi. Please."

"I..." Komushi looked around him. Nothing but sand and Sunagakure half an hour away. He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Let's get you home, Gaara-sama. Rasa-sama must be worried."

::

_"Breaking people is my hobby, Sakura-chan. I don't just 'have my fill'."_

She guessed it was around early morning. Nothing happened near the compound save for the few individuals sneaking out, or going to/returning from missions. Sasuke was safe, Itachi wasn't even in the village, and everything that shouldn't happen, didn't.

_"There's a reason why it's this place."_

Sakura shut her book and stuffed it into her bag. It was safe to say that this crisis was one of the things the timeline was kind enough to change. Making sure her chakra was still concealed, she leapt down from the tree and stretched her arms over her head.

_"There's a reason why there's this fire."_

The view of the sky was obscured as she stayed at her post, so it was a relief for her to meet the starless night. As she turned around to head back towards Konoha, she could make out smoke billowing up from somewhere in the village.

More specifically, the civilian districts.

_"And there's definitely a reason why it's you."_

She ran.

_"Ripping walls apart is hard nowadays, making the prize sweeter than you could ever imagine. I was at a loss at what I should've gone to do during the war. Make some chaos, yes. Murder whoever crosses my path, it's only half as fun as you'd think. But when you take an individual, especially one of the driving forces of the opposing cause... Then you get something interesting."_

This never happened in the other time. There was never a report of a large fire or—or anything major happening to the civilians until the war. Sakura forced chakra into her legs to speed up. What was going on? Why was there a  _fire_  of all things?

_"I'll make sure to drive you insane."_

When a building burns, it has such a distinct smell to it. Whether it be wood or plastic, everything comes to meld together into something unbearable. Sakura stood in front of the complex she called her safe haven-- its raging flames reflecting off glassy eyes.

_"It won't matter if I lose the war, nor when the Allies execute me."_

Water-natured shinobi were making quick work of containing the destruction and pulling out the bodies they could recover. They were lined up to the side with a medic assessing each one, covering ones he was positive in there being nothing to be done.

_"In the future, you'll be desperate for freedom from your memories. From your failures. From me."_

Sakura willed herself to move towards the bodies.

_"I won't kill you now."_

The medic noticed her arrival but kept on working. He suddenly looked nervous as he covered the person he finished evaluating. "Where are your parents?" He didn't look into her eyes.

"Can I check the bodies and see?"

He turned away and nodded. She walked to the beginning of the line of bodies and brought each sheet down enough to see their faces. First one, the construction worker on the third floor. Second, the little boy on the fourth floor. Third, his older sister. Fourth, the vase maker.

_"Because I know for a fact that in the midst of smiles and celebration..."_

Fifth, the little girl who'd show her a new type of butterfly she found on one of her flowers. Sixth, the kind old man with the blue cane. Seventh, Akiyama-san.

_"... with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, or whoever else that hasn't already died..."_

Eighth, the boy who liked making mud pies. Ninth, the shy librarian who had a hobby of collecting marbles. Tenth, the girl who quit school to take care of her cousin.

_Obito gently stroked her face—mockingly, with a pityingly disgusting smile on his face._

Eleventh. And Twelfth. Sakura slowly brought the sheets down heart dropping at the sight of both her parents. Kizashi and Mebuki looked as if they were asleep, just asleep, and that they would wake up at any moment. But they were just as pale as the cloth that covered them.

She fell to her knees, holding her stomach and her heart: feeling the dull throb of pain from just before her death at the end of the war.

_"... I'll be able to see your pretty face again when you do the honors yourself."_

::

**Haimaru Brothers: These are Hana's dogs, but were never formally named. First appearance: _Naruto_  Episode #79**

**Rokusho Aoi: Ex-Konoha shinobi. First appearance: _Naruto_  Episode #102**

**Morino Idate: Ibiki's actual younger brother. First appearance: _Naruto_  Episode #102**

**Komushi: Sasori's only mentioned associate. First (and only?) appearance: _Naruto Shippuuden_  Episode #319**

::

**EDITED 1/31/18**


	24. Hollow

Ibiki came to the office early to review some files to send to the Hokage when he saw a little girl sitting on the couch. Her hands and clothes were dusted with soot, and a pile of ragged books and unsharpened weapons by her feet. Dirtied bangs covered the front of her face; the bandages on knuckles ripped, revealing scars caked in dried blood.

"Sakura?"

"Ibiki-san," she returned quietly. The tone in her voice was that of defeat, like when one gave up on life or was swimming in guilt about what they'd done. He took a seat beside her. There had been news of a fire around the civilian district, as he saw a brief overview of the incident in the morning newspaper. The street names he couldn't remember, but he felt a sense of familiarity behind them.

Now he knew why.

"You weren't home last night?" he asked. Sakura shook her head.

"I was out. I didn't know," she murmured. "I should've stayed home. I could've helped. They would've been alive."

"The building wasn't inspected properly, Sakura. There was faulty electric wiring and the heating units malfunctioned in the middle of the night. You couldn't have known about it. And if you stayed, you properly would've been caught in it too," Ibiki said.

"As long as they would've been fine."

"Just your parents?"

"All of them."

Ibiki's eyes moved to her. Her stare was glued to her lap and aside from her mouth, was completely unmoving. She was truly a child undeserving of what fate had in store for her.

"Do you have anywhere to go?"

She shook her head again. Ibiki stood first, then bent over to pick up her books. He took her book bag and other weapons, slinging the former over his shoulder. Sakura finally looked up, confusion wholly apparent in her forlorn eyes.

"Ibiki-san?"

"Come on."

The streets were still kind of empty this early in the morning giving the perfect atmosphere for Ibiki to guide her down the road. It was silent as the two didn't speak a word to each other, but is was expected. Both had lost their only family members in the past day or so, leaving them alone with only them, he noted with distaste. At least he was old enough to understand and deal with his emotions, but Sakura? She was  _eight_.

They entered one of the many residential shinobi districts spotted around the village. Sakura, despite churning in her overwhelming guilt, couldn't help but eye the one story house they approached. She knew nothing about his home life or what he did outside of his job and was actually surprised at what she was seeing.

When they entered, it was as sparsely decorated as she expected. No clutter and absolutely no dust to be found. He opened one of the doors down the hallway and set her things down on top of the metal desk beside the door.

"I know it isn't much, but you can change it as much as you'd like later on," he said. "I have some errands to run, but I'll be back soon."

He turned to leave.

"Ibiki-san."

He stopped.

"... Thank you."

He continued walking.

"Make yourself at home, kid."

Sakura sat at the edge of the bed, looking around the room. It was much larger than her last one with a bigger bed, bigger closet, and bigger windows that let her see the few flowers that grew on the ground outside. She appreciated everything Ibiki did, but going as far as giving her a place to stay was something she didn't account for.

Slowly, she reached into her pocket and took out the note Yori had given her an hour before Ibiki to the office.

_ Meet me at the Forest of Death when you have the chance. _

::

He was about to update her about everything that happened to Gaara. After, he wanted to discuss some more plans they'd have to collaborate on to make sure they'd implement in the near future. But it wasn't like her to be two hours late.

Sasori turned around when he noticed her presence appear near the cave he was taking refuge in. He opened his mouth to make his customary snide comment, abruptly stopping when he saw the sheer misery in her entire being. Downcast eyes, slumped shoulders, dirtied mangled appearance...

He went to her side immediately. "Are you okay?"

They both sat down against the damp wall of the cave. Sakura crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap.

"... Yeah." The back of her head tapped the rock wall. "Is that what you want me to say?"

Sasori became hyper aware as he gave her a wary look. He'd never seen her look so despondent. Of course he knew that there was damage left over from the war, but he didn't know to what extent it was. She always hid behind her smiles and certainty that he'd never been able to figure out the depth of that trauma. He could see now, in the utter guilt in herself, that it ran much deeper than he could see.

"That's what I would like," he hummed, "but I can see that's not the case. You don't have to tell me anything about it if you don't want to."

Nothing was said between them for a while. Sakura exhaled heavily and sunk further into herself. She didn't raise her head when she began to speak. "March 24th. The war was officially over, ending in the Allies' victory. People were crying, celebrating, talking about seeing their families. Me? I couldn't."

_She could tell that the entire camp had the highest spirit than at any other point in the war. What could she say? After seven long, grueling years, the world was finally free. Obito was dead and they were all able to move on._

_Sakura stood in the shadows of the main medical tent, staring out at all the smiling faces as she traced the scar around her neck. She would be lying if she said that she shared in their feelings of relief and ultimate victory. She felt unbearably empty compared to how she was as a teenager. In those younger years, she wasn't constantly kept awake by the cruel voice that haunted her for the past three years._

_**"I'll make sure to drive you insane."** _

_She retreated back into the tent and looked around her. She grabbed her issued vest from her chair and zipped it up. Next, she tied her kunai pouch around her right thigh. As she was about to leave without anyone's notice, she thought of Shizune._

_She deserved an explanation, at the very least._

_Sakura whipped up a quick note and placed it on the makeshift desk, then left._

I know we won the war, senpai.

But mine isn't over yet.

_It would take her two days of non-stop travel to get to the Valley of the End. She took to tapping into her Yin seal to insure she could make it before anything drastic happened to either Naruto or Sasuke. All the while she ran, the echo of that horrid voice coiled around her ear drums._

_**"It won't matter if I lose the war, nor when the Allies execute me."** _

_But before she could, she had to make a stop at one of the small towns on the outskirts of Fire Country. She knocked on the door of a cozy house painted smokey green that she went to on an irregular basis. An older woman with slight wrinkles creasing her face answered, smiling at her visitor._

_"Sakura."_

_"Yuka-san."_

_Yuka stepped to the side and gestured towards a room, though she knew there was no need. Sakura quickly murmured a 'thank you' and hurried into the house and towards the room. Her eyes landed on a little girl no older than three laying in bed, sleeping soundly and hugging a pillow._

_"Sachiko," she murmured._

Five full heartbeats passed until Sasori realized what she was talking about. His eyes flew wide as he gaped at her with disbelief.

"You had a daughter," he whispered. Sakura nodded.

"She was conceived under... undesirable circumstances," she began. Anger spiked in the pit of Sasori's stomach for a split second, understanding exactly what she meant, "but I didn't have the heart to get rid of her when I found out. I didn't tell anyone about it and gave birth to her in a small civilian town. I couldn't take care of her because of the war and there was no one else in Konoha, so I had no choice but to find someone to do it. That's how I met Yuka-san—an inn keeper."

_Sakura stood in the doorway. This was how she always visited. Never once had she met Sachiko face to face, introduced herself, nor made herself known that she was actually her mother. For a little over two years, the girl grew up thinking that her parents had died when she was a newborn, forcing her to be left in the care of her grandmother. Sakura strode forward and silently collapsed on the chair beside the bed._

_"You look more worried than usual," Yuka mentioned quietly from the other side of the room. The Konoha shinobi bit her lip as she reached over to stroke Sachiko's sleek black hair._

_"I..."_

_Tears began to fall._

_"I think I know what'll happen to me next."_

_She hastily wiped her face with her sleeve and pulled out a small scroll from her kunai pouch. A small box was summoned from it, inside: her Konoha headband, Mebuki and Kizashi's rings and wedding portrait, a vial of her blood made to be preserved, various pictures of her and everyone else in Konoha including her copy of Team Seven's photo, and a letter explaining why she was never there._

_It was locked with various seals and chakra webs that could only be opened with a specially made key._

_"Yuka-san, I'd like to ask you to do one last thing for me."_

_The older woman smiled sadly. "Anything, dear."_

_Sakura handed her the box as well as the key strung on a chain alongside a cherry blossom pendant. It was the one her parents gave her when she was just a little girl herself. "Give this box to her when she's old enough. Inside, I've explained everything up to this point," she said. The tears started up again. "I know she'll be angry with me, but tell her how much I love her. Tell her I wish I couldn't been there and that if things went differently, I would've been here for her. And tell her that I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry I did this. I... I..."_

_Yuka gripped her shoulder, eyes molded in a definite promise._

_"She'll grow up knowing that you loved her more than anything," the woman swore. Sakura thanked her profusely, then moved back to the bed. She placed a painstakingly gentle kiss on Sachiko's forehead before murmuring an apology and shunshinning away._

"I couldn't take care of her. I know I have post-traumatic stress disorder from my experiences in the war, and I wouldn't be able to provide all the support she needed in the most crucial years of her life. I'd rather have her curious about me than knowing me then losing me," Sakura sighed. "So to her, I never existed."

Sasori kept quiet to let her continue. He, personally, thought it unfair to Sachiko to have never known her mother, but he understood the course of action. Sakura had to prioritize herself first before lending her heart out to another. And after the fighting, the deaths—the  _rape_? She was emotionally compromised.

And in all these years in the new timeline, he never knew.

_She was back on the trail to the Valley of the End, Yin seal working in overdrive. The place was in her sights now and she could feel the enormous chakra clashing into each other._

_**"In the future, you'll be desperate for freedom from your memories. From your failures. From me."** _

_Sakura faltered a bit, a frown on her lips. Obito told her three years ago that her resolve would come to this. She accepted with a bitter, sickening feeling that he was right about everything he told her that day._

_**"I won't kill you now."** _

_She landed beside her old sensei on the sidelines of the canyon. Naruto and Sasuke were battling it out near the waterfall, both looking exhausted and determined not to lose. She kept her eyes locked on their actions._

_"Kakashi. A surprise to see you here," she greeted. She saw him wince in her peripheral vision and felt his stare on her exposed scars and ignored him. "I heard Naruto and Sasuke were fighting and came as soon as I could. Is it impossible to stop them?"_

_**"Because I know for a fact that in the midst of smiles and celebration..."** _

_Sakura's fingers curled into white-knuckled fists._

_**"... with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, or whoever else that hasn't already died..."** _

_She straightened as she noticed a sudden change in the fighting. Each was at one end of the valley, panting and summoning the last reserves of their chakra._

_"They're going to kill each other," she said._

_"Aa. They are," Kakashi replied. Sakura would be damned if this was how the war was going to end. This wasn't going to be one of those war stories where the hero died so that every else could live. Naruto was the sole person to bring the Shinobi Nations to peace. And Sasuke, well, he could get that second chance Naruto always talked about._

_She sent medical chakra to the tips of her fingers. "... I'm sorry, Kakashi." She forced her chakra into the base of his neck, shocking his nerves and sending most of his body into paralysis. She offered him a tired smile. "It's only temporary, I promise."_

_Sakura looked back to the Valley of the End. "I know it's not my place to ask for a favor, but... tell everyone I'm sorry. Tell Naruto that I believe he'll become Hokage, and tell Sasuke that I believe one day that he'll be happy. And you, Kakashi..._ thank you for being my sensei. _"_

_She sprinted towards the battle._

_Her life? It wasn't important now. She healed thousands in the war, became the third person in the world to establish the Yin seal, had a beautiful daughter that would grow up in safety, and would use this moment to finally rid of the ghost that bedeviled her without mercy for the better of three whole years._

_The fluorescent blue of the rasengan and the illuminating chidori came closer to one another, and she sped up._

_At least with this, she could make up for being that useless little kunoichi who only had the eyes for boys and being nothing but a dead weight to the team._

_**"... I'll be able to see your pretty face again when you do the honors yourself."** _

_And maybe with this..._

_She could be free?_

"Sakura..."

She turned away from him fully, facing the entrance of the cave. The white symbol on her back was smeared with ash with a hole torn to break the circle.

"I didn't jump in between them for the sake of it, Sasori-san. It wasn't a last second decision, or a desperate choice. I  _wanted_  to die." She buried her face in her hands. Her voice came out in a broken trickle, like a water pipe after a rainy day. "What did I do to deserve to come back?"

::

Orochimaru carefully observed his partner. Ever since Sasori had come back from an errand, he'd been strangely quiet and troubled, keeping to himself and knitting his eyebrows whenever it seemed like something crossed his mind. It was a sudden change to how the man started presenting himself in an aloof and wondrous way.

"She changed all of a sudden," Sasori finally said. Orochimaru glanced to the side but didn't question it and let him speak. "Her smile was different, and so was her soul. Once, she poured her heart into everything she did. Poured and poured and poured and poured..."

Sasori looked up at the bright, sunny sky. "... Until even _I_ didn't realize that she was already hollow."

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	25. The Mental Health Examination

**Warning: This chapter is about Sakura answering questions about her mental health. The subject may be unpleasant.**

::

" _What?!_ "

"How many times do I have to tell you, Shiranui? Her parents are gone and she's staying at my place for the time being," Ibiki repeated. Genma scratched the back of his head as he messed with the senbon in his mouth. That was more than a horrible development in their plans and an even worse feeling on him for her, considering that he'd been one of her sensei for the past three years.

"Now I seriously don't want to put her in interrogation," he sighed. He and Ibiki turned a corner and entered a shinobi attire store, the latter reluctantly agreeing with the statement. Ibiki was sure that she was messed up before, but now? It might be too big of a risk to take.

"We'll give her the choice. Whether she wants to take it or not."

"You're  _still_  going to do it?!"

"It's her decision."

They moved to the clothes for younger shinobi section and picked out some green and navy blue shirts along with some black pants—what Sakura could wear in the meantime until everything was figured out.

"Then who's going to take care of her now? She has no home to go to and I doubt the orphanages would allow her to train or study with us with the schedule we've set up," Genma said. Ibiki brought the clothes to the cashier and pulled his wallet from his pocket. His face had turned contemplative as he and the other left the store with what they bought.

"I will."

Genma nearly tripped over his own feet. "Wha—?!"

"We want to keep her in our loop, don't we? She's a good kid with good work ethic, supreme intellect, and actually listens to what she's told. Besides, we've basically been taking care of her for the past three years. This is the least I can do for her."

With unusual seriousness, Genma observed the head interrogator. This man became leader of his sector at eighteen years old-- the youngest Konoha's ever had. Ibiki had already established quite a name of himself by then, thus being dubbed as one of the more notorious shinobi in the ranks. He wasn't known for his kindness, definitely, not even towards those he knew.

"You know she's not Idate, right?"

Ibiki kept on walking, his face betraying not a single emotion. "Yeah."

They stopped when they saw Sakura down the street. She still wore her clothes from earlier but had cleared off most of the ash that clung to her prior. It looked as if there were more scratches on her arms and legs, as well as some dirt smeared in her hair. Her eyes were just as flat and lifeless as they were an hour or so since Ibiki left her back at his house. He and Genma exchanged glances before flanking her.

"Hey, Sakura," the tokubetsu jounin grinned. "Lookin' a bit roughed up there. did you go to work up a sweat at our usual training grounds?"

She shook her head. "Training Ground 44. I go there when I have the time," she replied. Genma ran into one of the vendor carts, earning him some laughs from bystanders and a pointed stare from his superior. Ibiki looked back to his student with furrowed brows.

"How many times have you gone?"

"A few times a month. Since I was five."

Genma quickly caught back up to them. Training Ground 44, infamously nicknamed the Forest of Death, was only used by the village to test genin to see if they were fit enough for a chuunin nomination. No Academy student knew of its existence and a genin would only know about it if they happened to overhear conversations between older shinobi. Before either of the two could ask another question, she raised her eyes.

Dull. Blank. Vacant.

It made shivers run down their spines.

"About that new interrogation internship you two always mention when I'm not around—"

Genma's eye twitched. She knew about that?

"—When can I start?"

::

Sakura was absent. Again.

Naruto sat with his chin on the desk, pouting as Iruka gave his lecture. It was Wednesday, the third consecutive day where she failed to show up. He and Sasuke first went by her apartment on Monday to pick her up on their way to school, but when they got there the building was being reconstructed. They were told there had been a fire and that only a pink-haired girl survived.

"Then where is she?" Naruto asked. One of the construction workers opened his mouth to tell the  _thing_  to scram, but was silenced by Sasuke's now-mastered Uchiha's glare.

"U-Uh, haven't heard about her. There were rumors that she saw her place, identified the bodies, then just up and left," the worker answered. Naruto, unaware about what transpired between one of his best friends and the civilian, frowned and nodded.

"Oh. Thanks."

Sasuke tugged the blonde towards the Academy after that, throwing another angry glare behind him before he turned his attention to Naruto.

Since then, all they could really do was keep a look out for her on the streets and hoped that she'd come back soon. Everyone from their usual study group voiced their own concerns and promised that they'd keep a look out for her as well.

When the last bell rang, Naruto and Sasuke grouped together by their desks and began to talk about what they were going to do now.

"She could be all alone, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. "Y'heard what that guy said on Monday! Nobody got out 'cept her, and we don't know where she went! What if she's hurt?"

"She's not, dobe. You know Sakura's super strong and that'll never happen to her. She's just... busy, I guess. But she's def'nitely okay," Sasuke affirmed. He still had some doubt lingering at the edge of his mind. He refused to believe that anything bad could ever happen to her. If she was able to take any of her classmates down in seconds and absolutely excelled in every subject, then she was invincible!

Chouji overheard the two and shyly popped up next to Sasuke.

"Maybe she's with bandana guy," he suggested. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, light bulbs seemingly going off atop their heads.

"Chouji, you're a genius!"

Both the boy's arms were grabbed as the other two bolted out the classroom while dragging their chubby friend with them. Shikamaru only sighed, took Chouji's things, and made his way to the Akimichi Residence.

"Troublesome."

::

No lie, the building looked kinda scary.

Three young boys standing in front of the ominous facility was an odd enough sight, but when two of them were the sons of main branch members of two of the four noble clans, and the other was the host of one of the most (if not the most) powerful being on earth, people were going to stare. Naruto decided to take the lead and walked through the glass doors first.

Izumo was at the reception desk today with his feet propped up and his fingers laced behind his head. At the sound of the door, he swept his feet to the side and glanced over at the visitors. "Oi," he called, "this ain't a place for kids."

The huddle jumped and faced the older nin.

"Yeah, b-but, uh... is Haruno Sakura here?" Naruto questioned timidly. Izumo leaned over the desk and rested his cheek on his palm.

"So you're Sakura's friends, eh? They said she'd be gone from school the whole week, I think," he said. The trio of student's eyebrows rose.

"T-The whole week?!" Chouji stammered. "But she's okay, right?"

"She's just taking some tests."

"Tests?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," a new voice intervened. Genma came down the stairs, hands stuffed in his pockets and his trademark senbon hanging out the corner of his mouth. "Sorry to keep her from the Academy for so long. Sakura-chan'll be back on Monday, no worries. She just can't see anyone right now."

He smiled at the three of them, watching as they reluctantly bowed their heads and exited the building. Once they left, the corners of his lips dropped as he went down into the basement.

The Hokage and Ibiki were in the dimmed hallway, silent and looking through one of the two-way mirrors of an interrogation room. Dan personally asked to come and oversee Sakura's examination to enter the sector. This was regular protocol for inductees, and since she was an under-aged orphan enlisting in the force.

He gave his own concerns with this course of action, even opting to have her wait a few years because he felt that she was too young for her circumstances. Dan had always been kindhearted, Genma supposed, so he could understand why he was so reluctant to allow it.

But for now, all they could do was watch and see how it would play out.

::

Inside the room was a steel table with a single light hanging above it. Face down on the table was a black square, indiscernible of what it truly was. On one end was a passive Sakura, patient as ever and looking more spirited than she was a few days ago. On the other was Inoichi. He had on his fatherly disposition to try and lighten the situation a little bit. Not that he needed to.

"I have quite a bit of questions to ask," Inoichi said. "I need you to answer these with a hundred percent honesty. This will go on your permanent record and any lies discovered can result in punishment or termination of your internship under Morino-san and Shiranui-san."

She nodded. Inoichi wrote a few things down on his forms. The examination was intended to measure seven things in the very least: aggression, hostility, disregard for authority, personal relationships, perception of right and wrong, and ego problems. He hesitated turning the page. He, alongside Dan, was very reluctant in letting her into the system.

"Alright then, Sakura. We'll get started," he began. "How was your relationship with your family? Was it a two parent household, were they shinobi...?"

"My parents were Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi. My father was a chef and my mother was a school teacher; civilians. I wasn't very... close to them as I wanted, but they're good people."

She tilted her head. "Or, were," she added. Inoichi wrote down her answers with a stiff hand and continued to the next question.

"Who do you normally hang out with?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. It's the two of them most of the time, but on occasion I'll hang out with Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru."

The sound of pen on metal was the only noise in the room.

"Mhm... so, how would you describe yourself?" Inoichi asked. He raised his eyes, seeing her brows knit in concentration. It was odd, to say the least. Many children her age would start to list the things that they thought were good at, or prided themselves as being. It took a few seconds for her to come up with an answer.

"Pessimistic. Stressed. Tired, I guess? There's really nothing more I have to say."

Inoichi pressed his lips together, wrote down her answers, and turned to the next page. These words were nothing he expected, and it only fueled the ever dropping feeling in his stomach. The first set of questions were the basics—the icebreakers, he dubbed it as. The next he wasn't sure if he could sit through with a straight face.

He restrained a sigh.

"We'll head on to the next ones, Sakura," he told her, flipping the page.

::

He didn't like it.

Dan didn't like the apathy in her eyes; her indifference, and the way it looked so similar to how Tsunade's was before she tried to—

He quickly stopped himself as he loosely crossed his arms and continued to watch the questioning. No, he shouldn't be thinking like this. Sakura was nothing like Tsunade and would never turn into someone like her, he was sure. She was a good child. Disturbed, but brimming with potential that could be cultivated for the greater good in the most pacifistic way an interrogator could be. He watched as Inoichi read the first question to the real examination.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you trust others?"

"One."

Inoichi stopped writing. "One?"

"I don't believe shinobi should trust others so... freely," she explained. "I know it's not a nice place out there and I don't expect it to be. It should take years to build up a single thread of trust and even I know that you shouldn't give your 100%."

That answer made Dan shift his weight to his other foot. Inoichi's reaction was more noticeable. He adjusted his position in the metal seat and peered across the desk curiously, to hide his discomfort.

"So you don't trust your friends."

"I would try keep my life out of their hands, if that's what you mean."

Dan ran a hand through the bundled hair draped over his shoulder. This wasn't right; her manner, her demeanor, nor the way she presented herself. He could see her muscles tense under her shoulders that hadn't let up for even a second since she entered the basement.

Oh, how he wished she could've lived as a normal child.

::

"Do you think you're sensitive to what others think?"

"I try not to offend."

"Then I suppose you're quite the lady in social situations."

"Lady might be pushing it, Yamanaka-san."

The lighter questions were nicer, Inoichi noted with slight relief. Her answers weren't at all heavy as well. He wanted to carry out this testing like any other candidate about to join their ranks, but he was always reminded of his own daughter. They were the same age, same class, and should've had the same mindset of any other eight year old girl.

He cleared his throat.

"What about worrying? Do you do that a lot?" he asked. Sakura looked distant for a few moments, thinking about who knows what in a far off world.

"Yeah."

"What does a young Academy student like you have to worry about?" Inoichi hummed. "Besides everything you have to deal with T&I."

She stared back at him. "Everything."

They told her she couldn't lie, so she wouldn't.

::

Ibiki frowned a lot. All the time, actually. He frowned so many times a day that he barely noticed himself doing it. But in this moment, Sakura's answers were sending him into deeper thought with each word she uttered. He felt his mouth dip down with the answers he wasn't expecting.

It unsettled him that the unforeseen was everything.

Her case was starting to be the worst ones he'd come across. He suspected a certain trauma within her, whatever it was, but he couldn't imagine that the reality of it was deeply ingrained in her subconscious; always there as a memory she couldn't forget.

Ibiki was starting to suspect that the cause wasn't just because of the death of her parents. The Yamanaka Head scratched the back of his head—a common nervous tick. Ibiki couldn't blame him.

"I see. What about indecisiveness? Do you have a hard time making decisions?"

"No," she answered immediately. "I like to plan things and pick the best outcome for every decision I make. I won't allow myself to make room for error."  _Not again._

Inoichi leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs and tapping his pen against his knee. Ibiki noticed it as one of those poses the man would use when he felt that a conversation would take a turn in an interesting direction. It was obvious that the interrogator and the two other spectators beside him were already intrigued by the proceedings, probably not in a good way.

"How often do you cry, Sakura?"

The tiniest of smirks made its way onto her face. "Would you believe me if I said I was a big crybaby before?"

"Not really."

"Well, I was. Years ago," she mentioned casually, eyes moving to the two-way mirror at her right side. Her eyes went to Genma, then Dan, then to Ibiki like she had known from the very start that they've been standing there. "But not anymore."

"... Alright. Next question."

Ibiki pursed his lips.

::

"Your parents were kind to you, weren't they?" Inoichi questioned. "Nice people, civilians, like you said. You said you weren't that close to them?"

"Yes. They never truly understood the shinobi world but supported me anyways. The old—er, Ibiki-san took care of most of that for me. I spent less time at home and more time training. My parents kept the encouragement there. Never yelled at me or raised a hand."

He flipped a page. At least that answer was completely well and good. Here, the questions would take a turn based on what he deemed appropriate. If they had a clean mental state, the examination would end with a few more questions. But if he sensed there was some affliction...

Inoichi reorganized his papers to take a specific set out and moved to the first question given.

"How would you rate your temper on a scale from one to ten?"

::

Genma's ears perked up at the starting question. He recognized it as the beginning of the PTSD screening. The entire inquisition had been moving along bumpily, for lack of a better term, and he hated to agree that Sakura was suffering so severely. The more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that he barely knew a thing about her.

She never talked about herself or her experiences, only about the things her friends did or the training and studying they themselves provided for her. She... She never talked about what she loved. What she liked to do; to eat; to relax. Whenever he or Ibiki was with her, all she'd ever do was talk about some whimsical topic or sleep.

Inside the room, Sakura flexed her fingers. "Temper?" she repeated. "An eight. I don't take too well to idiots."

On the see-through side of the mirror, Genma moved the senbon to the other side of his mouth. He saw Inoichi write that down, making a note on the side about possible anger management program if she were to be admitted.

"Is your guard ever lowered? I can see that it's not the case right now, but what do you have to say? Don't you have some time to relax? Konoha's a safe enough place for that much," the blonde said. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and kept her eyes glued to her interrogator.

"It's like what I said about trust. I don't believe in having so much, so I'll always have my guard up. Always. Of course there are times when I slip up and make mistakes—"

Genma remembered the dead look in her eyes a week ago.

"—but I'm working to make sure it  _never_ happens again."

::

Her voice sounded like steel against his ears. Not only did she make a promise, but made it a fact that she wouldn't screw up again. Inoichi had to force himself to break their eye contact and write down her answers. He jotted down a few more pointers in the margins about possible stress conditions she could be suffering.

"I've noticed that you're distant," he said. He saw her jaw tighten in his peripheral vision. "More separated than a lot of kids. Is there a reason for that?"

Sakura looked down. He knew that she was aware of the three other pairs of eyes observing her in this moment, preventing her from letting anything slip by him. "Connections make it harder for you to do what you have to. If nothing can hold you back, then it's okay."

The tension washed away in one fluid motion and replaced by melancholy. She kept her face turned away from all who could see. For a few seconds, all Inoichi could do was stare. He was known for being able to keep calm under the most agonizing pressure, but the thought of Ino going through the same thing as Sakura made his heart clench at the notion.

He moved to his next inquiry. "How's your sleep schedule? And how often do you have nightmares? If you have any."

He hated that the answer he expected was the answer he got.

"I don't sleep a lot. Four hours if I'm lucky," she sighed, hoping that the concealer under her eyes still kept up. "I have nightmares every day."

His fatherly traits seeped out as he forgot his purpose for a moment. "About what?"

"Um, I'd rather not talk about it. If that's okay," Sakura said. Inoichi blinked before waving a hand and admitting his mistake.

"Sorry, sorry, I overstepped my boundaries. Let's just move onto the next question," he said. He tapped the evaluation paper with the end of his pen. "Have you witnessed a traumatic event?"

::

Sakura wanted to play this out as quickly as she could with the least possible revelations about herself. She thought that she had reached the end of it all until Inoichi hit her with the PTSD questionnaire. How could she skirt around the subject now, with her sensei and the Godaime watching her all at one time?

"I have," she returned impassively. She kept her face as straight-laced as she could so that she couldn't reveal more than necessary.

"Do you ever re-experience it?"

Suddenly, she felt those gloved hands wrap around her neck.

"Yes."

"Do you ever have flashbacks of that event?"

A cruel grin flashed in her vision along with a pair of blood red eyes, black tomoe spinning; mocking her weakness and inability to free herself from his grip. Whispers of his silky, sickening voice waltzed in her ears.

"Y-Yes."

That stammer didn't go unnoticed, and she cursed herself for the slip up.

"When reminded of it, do you avoid thoughts, fee—"

" _Yes,_ " she hissed.

His eyebrows rose as he gawked at her. She could only imagine how she appeared to them now; horribly enraged at the voice that started to swirl in her head. She hadn't meant to direct her anger at him. Once she caught the blunder, she donned that emotionless mask.

"Sorry."

Inoichi said nothing and wrote down the answers. She saw him open his mouth and pause at the next question. Sakura pushed down the urge to drop her head. She was a medic who worked at the hospital for a time; she knew what the examination entailed.

"Do you have any thoughts of self-harm or suicide?"

Her arm unconsciously wrapped around her stomach.

"Yes," she murmured. Inoichi bit his lip as his eyes trailed to the next one.

"Have you attempted self-harm or suicide?"

His blue-green eyes met hers. They were sad—gazing at her in hope that she hadn't gone that far. Sakura kept her eyes down to inspect the hem of her shirt.

Before, she hoped that too.

"I have, Yamanaka-san."

::

Horrified. That was the only way to describe the way they felt.

Dan had to keep his appearances merely because he was the Godaime Hokage: a symbol and an example to the people of who they should look up to and hold their loyalty towards. He was to keep an even temperament in all situations, but this...

_This?_

This was one of the worst things he'd ever have to hear. He closed his eyes and let out a silent sigh, mentally counting to fifteen to calm his nerves.

Ibiki fared no better, but was able to keep a stone cold face the entire time. Inside, the desire to be her guardian only grew. Now, he wanted to protect her like he was never able to do with Idate. She deserved none of this. None whatsoever. Kami knows what other kind of horrid things happened to her when no one was around to see.

Genma probably had the most open reaction out of the three of them. His senbon slipped from between his lips, making a small clinking sound when it hit the concrete floor. Sakura looked so small in that chair, so defenseless and hopeless.

In the room, Inoichi snapped himself out of his reverie and went to the next question. Four more. Four more and she could leave. "Are you afraid of anything?"

"Not really."

"What about guilt? Do you feel it often?"

She gave a small smile, making their stomachs drop farther than they already had. "All the time," she responded. Inoichi bit his lip. The examination was nearing its end, thank kami. He didn't know how much more he could put her through.

"Then... do you hate yourself?" he asked. Her head tilted towards the ceiling as she truly thought about what to say.

"... I don't know," Sakura settled on. "I don't have an answer for that."

Inoichi set down his pen for the final question. He reached over to pick up that black square and set it up in front of her. It was a plain fifteen cm by fifteen cm mirror lined with a black, plastic frame. The girl appeared confused as she stared at herself. Why look into this mirror when there was a huge one to her side, she probably didn't know.

He gestured to it. "When you look in the mirror, who do you see?"

Dan, Ibiki, and Genma leaned closer to the two-way mirror in anticipation. Sakura stared and stared and stared and stared; for a minute, almost.

Then she looked at Inoichi.

"No one important."

...

Inoichi picked up the mirror and placed it on top of all the other papers and stood, offering the eight year old a forced smile.

"This concludes the examination, Sakura. Thank you for your time."

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	26. Omake II: The Happy Child

Her name was Sachiko and she was fourteen years old.

She could happily say that she was content with her life on Fire Country's border. The small town she lived in was full of the kindest people she'd come to know, and she was thoroughly satisfied with helping her grandmother at the inn.

But...

There was something that nagged the back of her head. Who were her parents? What were their names? How come her grandmother never spoke about them?

Sachiko unconsciously gripped at the key pendant hanging beneath her shirt. She was told that this was a memento from her late mother, and yet she still knew nothing about her. She tucked a few strands of black-bobbed hair behind her ear as she quietly made her way to her grandmother. Yuka was in the kitchen of the inn, preparing breakfast for the guests.

"Sachiko-chan," she greeted. "What are you doing in here? Didn't you say that you were going to take your herbal remedies down to the clinic?"

Oh, her remedies. For as long as she could remember, she had always been interested in medicines, herbs, and healing. Things of the like. She was far from being a shinobi even if she carefully worked from night to night on how to collect special chakra to her hands.

"Sensei wasn't there yet so I came back," Sachiko replied. "Um, baa-chan? Can I ask you something?"

Yuka looked over curiously. "What is it, dear?"

"My... kaa-san. Can you tell me about her? Please, baa-chan? I-It's been bothering me for so long and I want to know more about her. I  _have_  to."

The elderly woman saw the small fire in those bright green eyes and sighed as she turned the stove flame off. Sachiko followed as Yuka walked over to their storage closet. It was filled with things like winter blankets, towels, thick jackets...

The teen watched in wonder as a small box was pulled off the top shelf. Gray spotted the brown wood as well as the odd paper slips that were plastered on the seams. Yuka placed it in Sachiko's hands, tapping it lightly and sighing once more—wistfully.

"Your mother told me to give this to you when you were old enough. Just before she disappeared, she said that everything you wanted to know was here. And that key I gave you on your third birthday?"

Sachiko touched the chain.

"It was hers. And it's the only thing that can open this."

She ran her hands over the film of dust, quietly thanking her grandmother. Yuka patted her head and returned to the kitchen, throwing a sad look over her shoulder as she watched the teen hurry to her room.

As soon as Sachiko reached her room, she closed her door and leapt onto her bed. She pulled the key off her neck, staring at it's odd shape and worn look before placing it in the lock and twisting. There were plenty of things to expect when she opened it, like it just popping open, but an expansive spiderweb of blue shot over the box. It stayed as such for a few seconds as the slips of paper burned off, taking the glowing lights with it.

Her mother... was a shinobi?

She slowly pried open the box and peered inside.

Photos. So many photos. Photos of people around her age, of kids, of teenagers, of adults... The first one she picked up was of a married couple, the note on the frame reading:

_ Haruno Kizashi & Haruno Mebuki _

_ Your grandparents on their wedding day _

Wasn't Yuka her grandmother? Maybe on father's side. She sifted through more photos and saw many different people. Blonde hair blue eyed ones, pale eyed ones, even one with one eye always covered! Though in every picture, she always saw the pretty pink-haired one.

"K... Kaa-san...?" Sachiko murmured. It had to be. She had the exact same eyes as she did. She tore her eyes away and picked up two other things from inside: a heavily used, unpolished Konoha hitai-ate and a thick envelope.

_ To Sachiko, from your mother, Haruno Sakura _

With shaky hands, she lifted open the flap and took the letter inside. Twenty pages? Thirty? All handwritten and tear-stained. Sachiko swallowed down her uncertainty and fear as she readjusted herself on the bed and looked at the very first line.

_ Sachiko, _

_ I wonder how old you are right now, reading this. I've asked Yuka-san to give this to you when you were old enough to understand, but I know that at any age you'd be angry with me for not being there when you needed me the most. _

_ The first thing I wanted to make sure you know is that I love you. This might just be a stranger's words to you but to me, they're one of the only ones I truly stand for. I love you. I love you. I love you, my beautiful daughter. I didn't want to leave you all alone, but I just couldn't stay. I'll explain myself later on in this letter, I promise. _

_ The second thing I wanted to tell you is that I'm sorry. For everything. You don't have to forgive me for what I've done, but I hope you take the time to get ready for what I have to say. _

_ Where do I start... _

_ How about from the very beginning? _

_ When I was twelve years old, I graduated the Shinobi Academy in Konohagakure. My genin teammates were Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, and my sensei was Hatake Kakashi. _

::

"Kakashi-senpai."

"Stop nagging me, Tenzou."

"We're two days late! And it's  _Yamato_."

"Then it won't hurt to delay two more. Tenzou."

Yamato rubbed his face with his hands and gave an exasperated sigh. Eleven years after the war and he still had to deal with his superior's bullshit. The two of them were making a short, diplomatic mission west from the Valley of the End. Kakashi, the recently retired Hokage, still maintained his lazy disposition and lack of motivation-- ultimately leading them to stop at a border inn for the night. Yamato followed the other exasperatedly though the doors of the quaint looking building.

An older woman was wiping down a table when she saw new customers.

"Welcome! Room for two?" she questioned. Yamato nodded as she moved to the reception desk. A roster was placed for them to sign. "I'll be leading you to where you'll be staying." The woman led them up some stairs and down a hallway, sliding open a door for them and bowing respectfully. "My name is Yuka, and you may ask for me or my granddaughter Sachiko if you need anything. Please enjoy your stay."

Yuka dismissed herself, leaving Yamato to sigh and take a seat near the window and Kakashi to look up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Sachiko. He remembered a conversation with his old student years and years ago about favorite names. In a flash, he frowned, quickly erasing the memory from his head.

"... Where did that come from...?" Kakashi mouthed to himself. He was saddened to admit that it had been a very long time since he reflected on his failure to the save the only student he abandoned. If he had a chance to do it over, he would. Kami knew he would. He desperately wanted to make up for everything he never did.

"Senpai," Yamato called. Kakashi spun around casually, "do you want to stop by  _there_  before we head back to Konoha?"

A quiet sigh. "If it isn't too much trouble."

::

It was in the calm evening when there was a quiet knock on their door. Yamato stood and opened the door to see a young teen. Her eyes were puffy from freshly made tears with a box clung tightly to her chest, folded papers in one hand. His eyes widened.

"A-Are you Yamato-san and H-Hatake Kakashi-san?" she sniffed as she clutched the box even tighter. He gaped at the girl for a few moments, not exactly knowing what to make of this. Eventually, he nodded and stepped to the side and let her shuffle in. Kakashi sat up and stashed his book away, curiously observing at the misery shrouding the teen.

She suddenly thrust the box in front of her and dropped her head. "P-Please take a look at this!"

Aloof as always, Kakashi slowly took the offered object and popped it open.

What he saw first made his heart stop. He stared, unmoving, for a whole ten seconds until Yamato's concern brought him to look into the box as well. Team Seven's infamous genin picture stared back along with an old red hitai-ate and a bunch of other pictures.

"These... things..."

The girl gulped.

"They belonged to my mother," she whispered. Kakashi's eye shot up, sharpening considerably. "I... I saw your names on the roster and th-thought you could help me learn about her...?"

Yamato stared at the other. It had been a long time since he'd seen such a strained but unreadable expression on the man's face. He too couldn't believe that this girl standing here was his old friend's _child_.

"Is your name Sachiko?" Kakashi asked. She nodded, unknowingly making his heart sink.

"Yes, sir."

"... How old were you when Sakura passed?"

Sachiko fumbled with the letters she held and hurriedly picked out one of the last pages. Biting her lip, she scanned the penned lines.

"T-Two," she replied. Kakashi and Yamato exchanged sorrowful glances. It was in the time period where most shinobi forces were sent to the front lines to fight the most important battles of the war. That had lasted three long years in which they hadn't seen Sakura for that entire time. It was a large enough span for the girl to come into existence.

"Who was your father?"

She sorted through the papers once more and pulled out a single sheet to hand to them. Kakashi lifted his headband as he took it, not noticing the way Sachiko flinched as he read through the page.

_ I've already lied to you so much that you don't deserve for me to lie about your father. I don't know what he was like when he was Kakashi-sensei's teammate, but he wasn't a good man when I first encountered him. Far from it. _

Kakashi froze.

No.

That didn't...  _wouldn't_ —

_ He tortured me for twelve hours. Every second I can recall what he did to me, and I can tell you that I never fully recovered. He took away my will to live and my passion to end the war. Could he have been saved from what he'd done? Maybe. But that moment made me realize that I had nothing left to offer to the cause. I couldn't protect the people I loved because I couldn't come to protect myself. _

Yamato covered his mouth with his hand.

_ I found out I was pregnant with you a month later. I was so... scared to admit to everyone what happened to me, so I hid it. Hid you. I didn't utter a single word about your existence and gave birth to you in that small town on the border where I hope you're still safe in today. _

_ You were the most beautiful soul I'd ever have the opportunity of meeting, but again... _

_ I'm sorry, Sachiko. _

_ You were born not only as my daughter, but Uchiha Obito's as well. _

They couldn't say a single thing. For eleven years, her intention was lost to them. They—Kakashi—never knew why Sakura threw herself between the rasengan and chidori. Perhaps it was her last stand to act as the catalyst to drive Team Seven towards its final resolution, or it could have been her overwhelming love for the both of them.

It was neither. And with that realization, Kakashi felt worse than when he watched her die.

"Was he really a bad man?" Sachiko questioned, her voice quiet. "What did Uchiha-san do? And why did he hurt my kaa-san?"

Yamato turned to look at her nervously when Kakashi wouldn't speak. "Well, he... just wasn’t exactly a good person.. I don't know about what he was thinking, but, uh, do you know who Naruto is?"

Sachiko nodded. He was always mentioned in her mother's letters as the one who gave her hope, the one who'd be future Hokage, and the one who always fought for Sasuke? Yeah, that was his name. And he was an Uchiha too if she wasn't mistaken.

"Sakura and Naruto were close, so I'd think Obito did it to hit close to home," Yamato continued. "I guess he failed in that sense because she didn't tell anyone, but I never thought she'd have been able to go through all that by herself..."

Sachiko hugged her arms, making herself seem smaller than she already was. "Why did she die?"

Kakashi raised his eyes at that moment and surprised her with the amount of pain that flooded them. "I couldn't stop her."

Her bottom lip started to quiver.

"I'm sorry."

He drew his gaze back to the box. Gingerly, he sifted through the pictures—the memories—and saw a vial of blood at the very bottom. A small note was attached to the cap as well as a seal of preservation.

_ If I'm still in the records, use this to confirm our relation. _

This could be his chance. For all the times he wronged Sakura like failing to teach her, or not taking the opportunity to pay attention to her as much as he did with the rest of Team Seven... he could finally make it up to her. Indirectly, of course. But if he could bring the girl up as a student like he never did to Sakura—

_Knock. Knock._

Yamato moved away to open the door, revealing Yuka on the other side.

"I'm sorry to intrude," she apologized, "but I need to borrow Sachiko-chan for a few moments, if that's alright." She faced the teen. "Sensei called about your medicine, how you were supposed to deliver today?"

Sachiko quickly bowed to the other adults and excused herself before taking off down the hallway. How could she forget? Her mother's box had taken up all the time out of her day that she'd forgotten about her duties!

At her leaving, Yuka's smile slipped off her face as she regarded the two shinobi with firm lips and a pensive gleam in her brown eyes.

"Now that you know of her roots, do you plan on taking her to Konoha?" she questioned. The heavy silence that followed was piercing and pulling on the thin string between tolerable and unbearable, but it was enough of an answer for her. Yuka sighed, the tiniest smile returning to her lips.

"I promised Sakura that I would raise her daughter with the love she was never able to give herself," she said, "I hope you come to treat her with that same respect."

To Yamato's surprise, Kakashi assured her with unshakable determination. "We will."

Yuka bowed to them, closing the door with a quiet  _click_ and setting off down the hallway. Once down in the lobby, she sat at the chair by the window and gazed out into the night. It was cloudless and blue, faded stars streaking the remnants of night.

Sachiko was a very bright girl with brimming intelligence that took after her mother, she was sure. They even shared the same round green eyes, though the teen's was much more vibrant than she had ever seen Sakura's. There was so much potential in that girl that she knew she couldn't keep her helping out at this old inn.

She sighed again. "Sachiko-chan was never meant to be a small town girl, anyways."

::

_To be continued in Omake III: The Flower That Wasn't Pink_  

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	27. Assignment

_"When you look in the mirror, who do you see?"_

_Dan, Ibiki, and Genma leaned closer to the two-way mirror in anticipation. Sakura stared and stared and stared and stared; for a minute, almost._

_Then she looked at Inoichi. "No one important."_

_..._

_Inoichi picked up the mirror and placed it on top of all the other papers and stood, offering the eight year old a forced smile._

_"This concludes the examination, Sakura. Thank you for your time."_

::

"Sakura-san?"

She let the glass doors of T&I close behind her as she looked up. "Itachi-san."

He was the last person she expected to see at the sector. Pacifistic, Sasori said he was. If that were true, then this was the one place he would have avoided in all of Konoha. He glanced at his surroundings for a few moments before returning his attention back to her. The hardness in his gaze was unmistakable though his small smile still remained.

"Sasuke has expressed his worry about you. He says you've been absent from the Academy for three days now," he said. Sakura shrugged.

"I've been doing a little of this, a little of that," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nothing he or Naruto need to worry about. I'll be back Monday morning no problem."

Itachi accepted her answer with the slight tilt of his head, but it looked as if he wanted to say more about the subject. He settled on staring at the  _Torture and Interrogation_  sign at the side of the door. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced all of a sudden even if he wasn't placing his attention directly on her. "You're so young."

"So were you."

Black, as dark as shadows, flickered down to her. "I had no choice. You can get out while you still can."

There was something about his words that began to piss her off. She knew that in the other timeline that no one suffered as much as he did. At thirteen, Itachi killed his parents and hurt the one he loved the most in the process. He chose the livelihood of thousands of people over a couple hundred of his own blood. He was Konoha's scapegoat that deserved everything he never got, and she respected that of him.

"I don't have that opportunity," she said.

"You do."

But  _this_  Itachi?

"I don't think you understand, Itachi-san."

"What is there to not?"

Sakura grit her teeth. This Itachi knew jack shit about his misery in the other timeline and because of his ignorance, it gave every reason for her not to get upset. But she was aware of who she was before.

She  _remembered_ her death—feeling every breathing moment.

She  _accepted_ the fact that her daughter would never exist this time around; the only creation she dared to call truly beautiful.

She _involuntarily let_  her parents die this time around because she was too damn focused on Sasuke's happiness to tend to her own.

Yes, she shouldn't be mad, though there was only so much that she could take from others. Sakura took one firm step forward, eyes taking on the blistering heat of anger. Itachi didn't account for her to react this way, or actually look intimidating while doing so.

"Never assume things of people," she sneered. "I'm sure that even a genius like you doesn't know the whole world, so I'd appreciate you'd cut that everyone-has-a-choice shit and take a few steps back. Re-evaluate yourself before coming to me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I... apologize for my callousness."

Sakura turned her head as Ibiki strode out the building. She glanced at the Uchiha heir one last time.

"Have a nice day, Itachi-san," she bid. She walked to her sensei's side, leaving the recently promoted ANBU Captain to silently watch her go.

::

"Oh, Shikamaru! Chouji isn't with you?"

"Naruto, Sasuke, and him went to look for bandana guy."

Chouza took his son's backpack from the boy's grasp and tilted his head. Shiranui Genma, his former student? He'd been mentioned occasionally by Chouji because of his ties with Haruno Sakura. He poked around for some information on it a year or two ago and found that Genma had started mentoring the girl, but was at a loss of what exactly he was teaching due to the undisclosed information.

It was strange that nothing but her name was documented in the files. Even Inoichi had some suspicion about it.

"The one with the senbon in his mouth?"

"Not him. The other one."

The other—

Chouza stalled.  _Ibiki_. Shikamaru had to be talking about Ibiki. The youngest to become head of interrogation, known not for using physical pain in his sessions, but known for getting information through inflicting severe mental trauma.

"What do they have to do with Ibiki?" he asked, trying to keep himself as calm as possible. That man was not known for his kindness and definitely wouldn't try to hesitate or shield mere children from the work he did. What would happen to Chouji if he saw those terrible practices? Shikamaru scratched the back of his head.

"They're looking for Sakura. I mean, she's with him a lot so I guess it's smart to look for him," he said. "Who is he?"

The Akimichi Head let out a nervous chuckle. "He's one of the elite. No one you need to worry about."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes.

He never said he was worried.

::

"The sun is burning and spirits are at an all time high—we can only be young for so long! What do you say to that, my shining eternal rival? Shall we engage in an invigorating taijutsu session?!"

Green. A lot of it.

Too much, actually.

Gai, with his usual thousand watt smile, struck a pose in the middle of a pretty busy street. Kakashi didn't even blink at the sight before side stepping the oddity and continuing on his way with his hands shoved deeply in his pockets. Though Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey was unperturbed as he jogged to catch up with his long time friend.

"Come on, Kakashi! When's the last time we had a battle of youth, man to man?"

Two blank eyes.

"Uh, fist to fist?"

No response.

"I suppose janken will do just fine then. Janken! A clash for the ultimate fate of destiny!"

Kakashi finally let out a tired sigh. He raised a gloved hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"ANBU is taxing. I'm on duty," he said. Gai looked all around him. ANBU? All Hatake had been doing was meandering the streets not doing anything in particular. He opened his mouth to retort, but when he moved his eyes back ahead of him, there was nothing but empty space. He clenched his fists.

"You win this round!" Gai shouted, raising his arms towards the sky in an admittance of defeat. He didn't know how it happened so suddenly, but ever since  _that_  happened, all Kakashi ever did was work then hole himself in his apartment. He'd spend no time with his old friends, always taking up any and all available ANBU duties.

Gai crossed his arms as an unusually serious expression blossomed on his face. Anyone could see that Kakashi was still caught up in the past. With his father, the Yondaime... Rin.

The taijutsu master glanced at the Hokage Tower with determination in his gaze. What he had in mind might be a bit of a stretch, but he was starting to lose out at all other options. He turned the opposite direction and began his march onward.

But he had to get Obito first.

::

Iruka wasn't quite sure how he ended up here.

The Akasen looked much different in the day time. The signs were unlit and nearly all the businesses were closed. They'd open in a few hours, he guessed, but it probably wasn't the night time appeal that brought him back. Here he stood at the back of  _Magenta_ , staring up Naruto's window. The apartment was empty, and he couldn't help but feel that how it always was.

"You aren't thinkin' of wreckin' the place, are you? 'Cause I gotta mean left hook."

A taller, slightly older man with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and a cigarette hanging from his lips strolled up beside him. Iruka quickly waved his hands in front of himself.

"O-Oh no, nothing like that! It's, uh, actually-- I'm Umino Iruka, Naruto-kun's sensei," he introduced. The blonde blew a cloud of smoke in the air.

"Ah. Sakura-chan or Sasuke-chan tell you 'bout his place?"

"Sakura did. A while back."

So Sasuke knew about Naruto's situation too, huh? It made sense. Those three had a lot of other friends but always stuck together like they were incapable of being apart. Great friends they might be, though, Iruka believed that it wasn't enough for Naruto. The love and support he needed from home was painfully absent just as much the backbone of encouragement was.

The stranger tilted his head. "So why're you here, sensei? Class ended, right? Naru-chan ain't back yet and you've takin' to starin' atta' window."

"I... I'm not too sure. I just sort of wandered here," he admitted sheepishly. "Naruto-kun's been doing extremely well with his lessons lately and was wondering if he was getting any support from home. Besides his friends of course."

The man flicked the ash off his cigarette before placing it back in his mouth. "We let him in the bar before openin' and take some food up every now and then. It's not much, but what can we do? Kid's an orphan," he shrugged. Iruka mumbled something, making the blonde lean forward.

"Nothing! Just—Just letting my thoughts run, is all!" He cleared his throat. "Well, I have to head back and grade papers... Um, I never got your name?"

The stranger gestured to the building. "I'm the owner, Mari."

::

"You talk to Itachi?"

"I do hang out with his little brother all the time. So I'm bound to talk to him sometimes," she said. They were headed back to Ibiki's house.

"I've got a plan for you. Want to hear it?"

Sakura cocked her head to show she was listening.

"You'll be going on one last test before you're fully admitted to the system: a field mission with whoever Hokage-sama chooses. Genma and I have no say in that," he informed, "but when you pass, and I'm sure you will, you'll have another sensei to listen to. She's unconventional and batshit crazy, but she knows what she's doing. Most of the time."

Sakura supposed he was talking about none other than the infamous Mitarashi Anko. She was the only renowned kunoichi from interrogation force she could recall, and the only real interaction they had was during Team Seven's first chuunin exams. She kept her mouth shut to let him continue.

"As for your guardianship—I'll have to sign your papers to ensure you don't get moved to an orphanage on any accounts. You can stay in the room you've been in for the past half week until you're no longer a minor. Sixteen in Konoha's laws."

She stopped beside Ibiki when he pulled out his key. "You're taking custody of me? Wow. I knew you were an old man, but I didn't expect you to be a nice old man," she mused. Ibiki scoffed as he held the door open for her to step inside.

"I'm not nice. I just know where my priorities are."

A debt of gratitude was one of the hardest things to pay back, if it could be paid back at all. She would be forever thankful of what Ibiki was doing for her even if he wouldn't fully admit to it himself. It would be harder to contact Sasori in these conditions, now living in a shinobi district, but it's not like anything was impossible. All she had to do was keep her obvious interests out in the open, destroy all messages Sasori ever sent her like normal, and keep her sleeping pills hidden.

Nothing she couldn't handle.

::

At about dawn the next day, Sakura was sitting at the edge of her bed adjusting her wrist blades when something crashed through her window. She took a split second to figure out what was happening before continuing to fix her weapons.

"Ibiki!" a voice roared. "Put me back on the roster, you bastard!"

As the dust cleared, the outline of the intruder became more pronounced. Anko angrily took a step towards the bed, stopping when who she expected to be bulky and irritated turned out to be extra small and pink. She narrowed her eyes.

"You're not Ibiki."

"He's down the hall."

The door slowly opened to reveal the wholly disgruntled person in question. Anko pointed at him accusingly.

"Fucker! Give me work to do!" she barked. Ibiki surveyed the broken glass and sighed. He walked over to pick up the larger pieces, then went back out the door.

"I don't think you understand what the term 'inactive' means," he said, voice drifting from somewhere near the kitchen. "The charge assigned to you nearly died because you lost your temper and beat him half to death with a piece of bread. Hokage-sama removed you from your duties for three weeks for a  _reason_ , including from interrogation."

Sakura couldn't say she was surprised. Anko had a certain semblance to Naruto with that same amount of reckless and disregard for authority. She picked up some pieces of glass and followed the others. After disposing of it, she went around the protesting woman to get some fruits for her breakfast.

"Give me a case!"

"No."

"Fucking goddammit, Ibiki!"

It was at that moment when Anko realized the very thing that wasn't quite right. Light brown eyes drifted over to the fridge. Sakura stared back blankly as she bit into her apple. Bewildered, the kunoichi gestured to her animatedly.

"And what the hell is this? Are you kidnapping little girls now?!" she exclaimed. Ibiki rolled his eyes and leaned against the counter.

"Anko, Haruno Sakura. A soon-to-be T&I apprentice," he introduced. "Sakura, Mitarashi Anko. A future sensei."

First there was shock, then there was a satisfied and almost maniacal type of grin. Anko rubbed her hands together like someone ready for a hard battle. Sakura, on the other hand, was perfectly unamused with what she was getting into. Once under her tutelage, it'd be even harder for her to move around as she pleased. Contacting her summons would take a little longer and convening with Sasori would have to be delayed.

"So you're the messed up little intern, hm?" she hummed. "I've heard lots of rumors about you."

"All bad, I'm guessing."

Anko fluffed up her tan trench coat, grin growing wider. "Oho, I think I'm gonna have a fun time training you, tidbit."

"Which you can talk about later on after her final examination," Ibiki interrupted. He pointed to a bird sitting on the windowsill. "Sakura, go to Hokage-sama's office."

Sakura nodded and thanked him when she took the fully stocked kunai pouch he held out to her. She excused herself from their presence and left the house. When the click of the door met her ears, Anko plopped down on one of the stools.

"Oh yeah..." she drawled, "kid's definitely fucked up."

::

Dan was against this. When he saw her, all he could see was a little girl who believed she had no other choice but to serve her village to her best ability. She was an eight year old who should be learning how to throw shuriken at tree stumps, not learning which veins and arteries were the best to cut for slow torture. She could even be learning how to read fun, adventurous stories instead of those anatomy books she carried around.

He gave a lengthy sigh as he thought of yesterday.

_Sakura stood up to leave the interrogation room, but was stopped at the second of Inoichi's sigh._

_"You... do know that if you pass, you'll become the youngest to ever join the sector. A lot of pressure is going to be on your shoulders. Are you ready for that responsibility?" he asked. She gave a nonchalant shrug as she rubbed her neck._

_"It won't be a problem."_

_On the other side of the mirror, the three observers collected themselves enough to disappear. Dan was lost in his thoughts the rest of the day, researching and checking up on other students to make sure there weren't any other cases like her._

People like her don't grow up well with normal functioning mentalities. They were warped to the point where their self-worth was startlingly low. They were the most effective on missions because of their lack of restraint, but it meant putting themselves in the most danger from their detached attitude toward their own person.

Hatake Kakashi is one.

Uchiha Itachi is another.

Unfortunately, Sakura was close if not already on that list. Dan straightened when there was a knock on his door and the aforementioned stepped in.

"Good morning," he smiled. "Are you ready for the final test?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. He gave her a small mission scroll from his well-organized desk as well as a small red bag.

"You and your partner will take a trip to Port City and deliver this jade bracelet to the client. Complete it as quickly and efficiently as possible and return to Konoha immediately upon completion," Dan explained. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

"Partner?"

"Someone to help monitor your examination. He'll be assessing the decisions you make and be the primary judge to whether you pass or fail. Good luck."

She bowed respectfully and turned to leave the office.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

She was only able to take one step before her muscles involuntarily seized up and and she forgot how to breathe.

"Your partner, Uchiha Obito, will be waiting for you at the gates."

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	28. The Mission

**Warning: This might be a little worse in terms of imagery. You've been warned.**

::

Deidara peered through the glass of one of the shops on the street. A box of special explosive clay sat in his grip, just as Onoki had asked him to. He was supposed to drop this off at the office to have it inspected, but...

That tanto looked really cool. Severely cool, actually. But he didn't think it was quite his style. Deidara was one who loved bright colors and explosions, and swords didn't fit that criteria. He sighed. He was destined to be in the Kugutsu Butai like his sensei told him a million times before.

"Oh? Interested in kenjutsu?"

Beside him was a rather short man with red hair tied at the nape of his neck and brown eyes that shone curiously. Deidara wasn't quite sure who he was, but he'd seen him around with Onoki every now and then. Maybe he was an associate from another village who never wore his hitai-ate or any discerning piece of clothing to show his allegiances.

"Not really, un. Not my thing."

"Can't say that when you haven't tried, can you?" the stranger hummed. "I would learn how to use a sword if I were still in my younger years."

Deidara pushed on with the conversation despite himself. "What's stopping you from doing it now, hm?" he asked. The stranger suddenly sagged forward as long, drawn out sigh escaped his lips. The boy jerked to the side at the abrupt movement.

"I'm busy. Tired. A little lazy—"

"Old, un?"

An irked glare.

"Brat."

Deidara grinned. He didn't know what it was about this man that left him at ease, but he felt safe. He was sure the stranger was a shinobi even with his lax attitude and lack of concern with his surroundings. Who was he, anyways? he was about to open his mouth and ask when he saw a small bug crawl onto the top of that mussed hair.

"Uh." The boy pointed to his own head. The stranger narrowed his eyes as he reached up with an open hand. With one touch, he sagged even further.

"Please tell me you have good news, Yori..." he mumbled. Deidara watched as the man took the bug—no, scorpion—and extract a small note from its pincers. A summon. A few seconds later that laid back stance straightened and his kind eyes sharpened. "...  _ Dammit _ ." He spun on his heel. "Be a good kid, Deidara. Onoki-sama expects those explosives to be put to good use."

And then he was gone.

::

"Morino Ibiki?"

"That's what tou-san said. Troublesome."

"Then we'll find out what happened to Sakura-chan, dattebayo!"

"We have to be careful, okay?"

Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Chouji gathered an hour before classes started. It was an uneventful Thursday morning, the sun already over the horizon at seven am, and the teachers had yet to make their appearance at the Academy. The four of them made a plan to head out, find her immediately, and cut class for the day. Until Chouji voiced against it.

"But Sakura would want us to go to class. She'd be mad if we didn't."

...

So they'd go before or after school to keep up with their studies. They set off into the village after coming to a consensus of going back to the T&I building to figure out what happened to their friend. Naruto headed the group, complete determination blazing in his eyes. He was worried about her. They all were. Her unforeseen disappearance wasn't natural—especially since she always stressed attendance and punctuality.

"What if they turn us away again?" Chouji asked as they approached familiar glass doors. "That guy told us she'd be gone 'cause she was taking lotsa tests."

"If we see that she's fine then it's good, right?"

"If you see that who's fine?" a new voice interrupted. The four of them froze, slowing turning around and looking up at who called them out. A grumpy looking man eyed them suspiciously with his arms crossed over his chest and an unbecoming downturn to his mouth. "Kids aren't supposed to be here. Leave or I'll make you leave."

Chouji held onto Shikamaru's upper arm. He quivered slightly, the stern look in the man's eyes making him almost week to his knees. Sasuke, whose Uchiha blood kept a heavy stream of pride pumping through his veins, refused to be deterred.

"Do you know where Haruno Sakura is?"

Ibiki cocked an eyebrow. "Not here. Now get lost."

Naruto butted in. "But where is she?! You know, don't 'cha?!" he exclaimed as he hoisted himself a little higher by pushing himself up on Sasuke's shoulders. "Can ya' tell us where she went?!"

The man kept his serious demeanor.

"No."

"What?! That's bull crap, dattebayo!"

What did amuse Ibiki, though, was that the boy promptly received two good smacks to the back of the head and a noise of disapproval at the word. Some odd friends Sakura kept around, especially since she was able to bring together three children from prominent shinobi families and the Kyuubi host. The leader of T&I cleared his throat.

"You can't see her. And she'll be gone from school another week."

"What?! Why?!"

"It's not like the girl's dead or anything. Scram," he said. He stepped around the group of young boys to enter the building to tend to his duties. Naruto, unaccepting of that answer, turned to him as Shikamaru's hand shot out and snatched his collar to prevent him from going any further.

"But Sakura-chan's house burned down! How're you gonna tell me that she's okay?! Huh?!"

Ibiki paused with his hands just centimeters from the door. He sighed before returning his attention to the bunch once more. "Look. You can't see her because she's not here. And she won't be here for a while. Now it's either you get your asses back to the Academy and stay away from this building, or you keep coming back and keep getting kicked out. Now what's it gonna be?"

::

There was nothing she could do to force herself to look at him.

Thankfully, Obito didn't make any new attempts at small talk. He tried to at the beginning of their journey to ease the tension, him probably thinking she was fearful or nervous about taking her very first mission outside the village. Though all replies were clipped one word answers that left no room for comment. He eased off her eventually and kept quietly to the side.

Port City was still a few days away. The bracelet she had to deliver was settled safely in her pocket and a communicator was fastened around her neck with the receiver tucked into her right ear. The measures taken to ensure her safety on this C-rank looked unnecessary, leading her to believe that there was another use to the device.

"Sakura?"

She flinched, moving her head so her left ear faced him.

"We can take a break if you want," Obito said. He was aware that she was keeping her distance by staying a few feet to the side and never once looking towards him. She shook her head while picking up the pace. He frowned.

"Sakura," he called again. She stopped this time. "Are... Are you afraid of me?"

He didn't see the way fear clawed at the edge of her eyes, nor how much they widened at the question. But what he did see was how her hand snaked to her neck for her nails to dig harshly into her skin.

_ Obito tilted his head innocently, like a child idly observing an anomaly. That cruel grin surfaced as his fingers caressed her collarbone. They traveled up, latching onto the collar of her shirt. _

_ "Sakura-chan," he purred, "are you afraid of me?" _

Obito's frown deepened. Inoichi briefed her situation to him, explaining the uncomfortable depth of her trauma as well as the symptoms she exhibited: anger issues, low self-worth, insomnia, frequent flashbacks, and possible depression. It saddened him to think that she practically embodied who Kakashi was right after Rin's death. He hated seeing people like this when he was sure they didn't deserve it.

"Oh... if there's any problem, just let me know, okay?"

She nodded.

Their tense silence carried on for the rest of the day, only climbing higher if Obito decided to try an alleviate her troubles with small jokes or funny stories. None of it worked, and he just couldn't understand. 

Why? Why was she like this? Not even Itachi had gotten this bad and he was scarred for life when he saw the aftermath of the Third Shinobi World War (He told Fugaku not to show the four year old, but he insisted).

He'd get to the bottom of it one way or the other.

::

Genma shared a visual jutsu with the mouse summon he placed in Obito's flak jacket before he set off on the mission, and made sure both his and Sakura's communicators relayed their conversations back to Ibiki's office at T&I. A TV was set up for the summon's feed connected through various chakra channels attached to Genma's body. Two speakers served to broadcast all sounds in Obito's vicinity. Everything would be recorded and stored for future reference.

Ibiki and Genma would be camped out in the office until their return to Konoha's gates. Not an interaction or uttered word would be missed. Inoichi would be called in when the actual mission took place to assess her actions and decisions made to ensure success.

"I feel dirty listening in like this. And having my eye chakra being hooked up to the damn thing again."

"You've done this exam before."

"Yeah, but _ before _ didn't involve spying on a suicidal eight year olds!" Genma bit out. "Morino-san, I don't want her in the sector anymore. Her mental state might get even worse and we'll turn her into those robotic ANBU!"

Ibiki turned a knob on one of the control panels on his desk to lower the sound of Obito telling a story of how he once got his foot stuck in a door. "The two of us turned out fine.”

"Only because we got out before the system could scrub the emotions out of us. I know you've seen her type before. If she, for some grand reason, doesn't die by being reckless on the battlefield, then she's going to do it herself. That's why I said  _ suicidal _ ."

They were interrupted by a new line of conversation. Two pairs of eyes raised to the TV screen.

**Sakura stood in the frame with her back towards the summon's vision.**

**"Are... Are you afraid of me?"**

**She didn't move.**

**"No," she answered. Her voice wavered. "Not** **_you_ ** **."**

Genma picked up the folder with all the questions asked by Inoichi the day before and flipped through it. He read the last couple of answers.

"She said she wasn't really afraid of anything," he said as his brows knit together. Ibiki kept his eyes glued to the screen.

"Anything," he reiterated. "The question never asked about any _ one _ . You don't like it, but we'll wait it out. If things get worse, we'll pull her from the program."

::  _ ( _ **_A/N:_ ** _ For clarification on the bold passage and future bold passages—it's what appears on the TV screen from Genma's mouse summon's perspective in Obito's flak jacket. So essentially, it's Obito's perspective also seen from everyone watching the screen.) _ ::

When nightfall met them, Obito asked if she needed a sleeping bag for the night. She shook her head once, setting her pack down to take out a thick rope with a hook at each end. She situated them into the bark of steady trees, creating an incredibly thin hammock.

"...There?"

"Here."

Obito was stunned when he saw she was able to balance herself on the rope with ankles crossed and arms draped across her stomach. It was a habit she picked up during field missions where sleeping bags were too much of a hassle for quick escapes and the ground was bad for worn muscles. Not to mention the hooks and rope served as good enough weapons when needed.

"Well... if you're sure," he relented. "Shout if you need anything."

He faced away from her and the fire with a plainly painted frown on his lips. After signing the summon to cut off the jutsu from Genma for the night and shutting off his communicator, he let his mind wander to his partner for the mission. Obito was assured that she had already passed the conduct portion of the exam. No inappropriate or outlandish actions had been taken so far-- the beginning of the perfect candidate of the elite.

There was no right for him to tell Sakura what was right or wrong, he knew that. But he wanted her to know that there was nothing to be scared of. She was going to be safe around him, and he couldn't pinpoint the reason why she felt the exact opposite.

He let out a soft exhale as he shut his eyes.

Tomorrow. He'd worry about it tomorrow.

 

And as the morning came, Obito sat up in his sleeping bag displaying a wide yawn. The fire now sat as a pile of burnt wood to his left. Sakura’s rope bed was gone and her pack was propped up against a tree, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Sakura?"

She appeared a few seconds later with two rabbits in one hand, each sustaining a small hole in the side of their necks.

"Breakfast," she said. She restarted the fire with the mouth ember she spat into the pit. Obito noted that she didn't spare any emotion when she skinned the animals properly, washed the carcasses with the water from her canteen, then put them on stakes for them to cook. The sun was already up at what he supposed was eight. Silence pervaded their air as it had done most times before, but this time, it made him tilt his head.

"You know, you remind me of someone."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from raising her eyes. She looked at him, just not  _ at _ him. "Who?"

"My old teammate, Kakashi. You wouldn't know him, but he's a real genius and prodigy just like you. And just like you, you both can keep quiet for forever," he sighed. He made a quick decision at the moment, glancing to his left and right. "I'm gonna tell you a secret and maybe you could help me with it. Promise not to tell anyone?"

She nodded slowly, eyes moving towards the grass beneath her to inspect their green. It's not like she had anyone to tell it to. This was her old sensei she was going to learn about, and if she knew any better, the information was likely to help her in the future.

"When we were still in a team, we had another teammate named Rin. She was a really sweet girl and was a talented medic. I'll admit that I had a bit of a crush on her back in the day," he grinned, a light blush crossing his cheeks. Sakura's fingers twitched.

_ "Rin. Did Kakashi ever talk about her?" _

_ One gloved hand grabbed a fistful of hair while the other started undoing her green vest. Sakura clawed at his hands and hissed, trying desperately to kick him off her, but unable to muster enough strength to do anything about it. _

_ "She was a medic, just like you. She cared for her comrades and ensured our safety." His grin turned a little less vicious and a little more bitter. "No one was there to save her," he murmured, "just like how no one's here to save you." _

"Anyway, we went on this mission once. It was supposed to be simple to go destroy Kannabi Bridge. Long story short, we were trapped in a cavern and it was going to collapse. Kakashi was knocked down, a boulder fell, and Rin was the closest one to him..." Obito closed his eyes. "He never forgave himself after that day. It's not his fault. I keep telling him that, but he just won't listen to me. Or anyone, for that matter," he exhaled. He blinked when Sakura actually replied to him, speaking quietly and still avoiding his gaze.

"Guilt is hard, Uchiha-san. Everyone's telling him that he wasn't the one who did it, right? That he had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah."

"Maybe that's the problem."

She stood and hefted the pack on her shoulders as she turned towards the path, starting forward and flipping on her communicator. Obito, aghast at the answer given, hurriedly packed his things and followed after.

It would take two more days to get to Port City.

And two more days of a straining silence.

::

Take out boxes were stacked on the floor beside the couch, begging to be discarded but receiving no such answer. The scent of ramen and fried meats was clearly noticeable and would take  _ days _ to air out of the office. Even Inoichi had to wrinkle his nose when he stepped into the room.

"This place smells like the back of a C grade restaurant," he commented. The TV showed nothing but trees and a pathway and the sound was on low, being nothing but chirping birds or the occasional rustling of leaves. Ibiki glared at the blonde from his spot slouched in the chair behind his desk.

"Tough."

Genma was faring no better with him sprawled on the couch in sheer boredom. He couldn't do much because of his chakra pathways constantly being used to direct the images on the screen. Inoichi pulled up a chair next to the open window, the room growing quiet as the city came into view.

**"Do you know where the client said you should meet him?" Obito questioned. The screen turned, showing Sakura surveying her surroundings.**

**"Near a hotel. He wants the package to be delivered in secret where no one would find out."**

**"Good. I can take your bag while you complete the mission. If that's okay with you."**

**She was reluctant in slipping the straps off her shoulders and handing him her things. Her eyes narrowed when her hand nearly touched his.**

Inoichi noted that.

**A few more words were exchanged as Sakura set off and disappeared into the crowd. The screen was still for a few seconds before a supposed shunshin was used and the view was positioned high above the rooftops.**

**"Eyes on target," he whispered for the other examiners to hear. The sight followed the head of pink hair weaving through the streets. She seemed like she was right on track to the client near the center of the city.**

**Until she suddenly dashed into a narrow alleyway.**

**Obito sputtered.**

**He leapt onto the rooftops on the other side of the street and peered down onto the path she went down. Or, supposedly had.**

**"She's gone!"**

Inoichi glanced at the couch.

"You taught her how to lose a tracker?" he asked. Genma scratched the top of his head.

"I taught her a lot of advanced stuff I don't remember. Probably? I mean, kid's talented and does a lot of outside studying."

**Obito opted to head towards the meeting place instead of trying to pinpoint her current location. When he did, there was a faint noise of surprise at the fact that she arrived before he did. A burly man towered over her as she calmly explained the reason for being there.**

Ibiki would admit to being the one that hired the so-called "client" for Sakura's exam. He wanted to test her bravery and willingness to carry out missions even in the most undesirable of situations. Granted, it probably wasn't the best course of action once he took her trauma into account, but he believed she was capable of doing it.

He told the "client" to wait for her in a gang-frequented alleyway where all the city's worst could be there for her to see. Doing this might not be the most ethical thing he could've done, but it was necessary. She needed to be able to get through something as small as this to be able to stay in a sector like T&I.

That's why he didn't tell Genma, Obito, or Inoichi about it.

**"You're a child."**

**"And you have arm muscles the size of my torso."**

**"What?"**

**"I thought we were pointing out the obvious."**

**The client scoffed and held out his hand. Sakura slipped the red bag out of her pocket and placed it in his huge palms. He didn't even check to make sure the bracelet was inside as he stuffed it in a pouch on the inside lining of his vest.**

**"Best get out of here, kid. People 'round these parts won't take too kindly to pink little girls that prance around their territory," he said, jerking his head towards the exit of the alley. Sakura nodded.**

**"Have a nice day, sir."**

The view on the screen made a move backwards as Obito's voice filtered through the speakers.

**"That was... anti-climatic. But mission completed, I guess? Sure she made some remarks but she sounded more diplomatic if anything."**

"She didn't demonstrate any symptoms of her trauma, which surprised me. But I did notice that there's something wrong between her and Uchiha-san," Inoichi said. He looked over his notes again. "Is there a reason for that? Did you see anything in her travels?" 

Ibiki held his temple as he thought back the last few days. "The first day, you could tell that she was afraid of someone. A specific person, not just your everyday fear."

The blonde nodded and jotted down more notes. It was just by chance that he happened to look out the window right after writing them down. "Huh."

"What?"

"It seems that you've got a few visitors. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun?" Inoichi observed. He narrowed his eyes at their obvious determined faces as they sat cross-legged near the trees by the building. Ibiki let out a deep sigh, standing sluggishly then striding towards the door.

"I'll get rid of them. Again."

::

They stayed in Port City for the night before heading back to Konoha the next morning. Obito sang her praises, imminently proud that she was able to handle the mission so easily for someone so inexperienced. His smiles and encouraging words sent absolute shivers down her spine for the next couple of days of the journey.

_ "Dear, dear, Sakura-chan... you've performed so well for me. You did good. Better than good. You're making me not want to stop." _

_ The tears were fresh on her face. "Please... s-stop..." _

_ Obito laughed, deep baritone swirling around the fire that surrounded them. "Begging? I never pegged you for the type to stoop so low," he sighed, "but I suppose it's expected. I'll just continue our little  _ get together _ until you don't have anymore tears to spare." _

Two whole days of memories was making her more paranoid than she'd like. Her nights especially had flashbacks incessantly plaguing her thoughts. She was with Obito for far too long and it was starting to strip down the walls she spent building ever since being placed into this timeline. 

But they were nearing Konoha. The moon was full against the deep navy backdrop of sky and they were merely miles away from the village.

Just a few miles and she would've been home.

Just a few miles and her mission would be over.

Just a few miles and everything would've gone according to plan.

As Sakura was distracted with her own thoughts, she didn't notice that there was a sound to the right of them. On reflex, Obito grabbed both her shoulders and brought her closer to him and away from the possible threat.

Then everything fell apart.

::

Deidara let out a small sigh of relief as he plopped down in his chair at the sentry station. It was his turn to sit through this round as a chuunin of Iwagakure, meaning that he had to take on the boring watchman jobs expected of them.

He set his chin on the table and blew a strand of hair out of his face. Training was just as tiring as any day, but had to be cut short because of the Kage duties Onoki had to tend to. It was the same day by day routine: get up, run errands, maybe a mission if he was lucky, train if his sensei had the time, do whatever for an hour or something, then get saddled with guard duty.

Life was supposed to be an explosion, though it seemed his wasn't. It was that same monotonous thing he hated and swore to himself he'd never let get that far.

His pastel blue eyes drifted out the slightly opened gates.

Maybe things would be better if he just...

He sat up and smacked both his cheeks with his palms. Don't think like that. Bad Deidara. He was an Iwagakure shinobi and he would be faithful to it until the day he died.

... Right?

::

Genma's eyes were wide and his jaw unhinged, and Ibiki was intensely focused on what was unfolding. The TV provided the only current light in the room. 

**On that screen was Obito's hand with a fresh, deep cut on the back of it. It stayed there for a second or two before the view raised, showing Sakura on the other end of the path. Her back was against the tree, shaking with both hands curled around a red-stained kunai. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and there was a heavy heaving of her chest.**

**The kunai suddenly dropped from her grip as her hands grabbed her neck. She stared right at both Obito and the summon, absolute** **_fear_ ** **in her eyes like she's begging for her life.**

**"Sa-Sakura?" he exclaimed, uncaring of his injury. "What happened?! What's wrong?!"**

**He took a step forward.**

**"STAY AWAY!" she screamed. Her hands moved up to grab at her hair as she slid down onto the ground. Tears suddenly formed in her eyes, the warmth silently dripping down her cheeks as her heaving quickened. Obito kept his distance from her and crouched down to make himself appear less intimidating, an assumption made from how the screen lowered.**

She was having a panic attack.

" **F-Focus on your breathing! Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose. Can you hear me? Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose..."**

**She looked like she was trying. As she did, her tears flowed out even faster.**

**"It's alright. It's just me. Uchiha Obito. Just a Konoha shinobi, a friend of Genma, and your partner for the mission. You remember, don't you? I'm not going to do anything to you. I promise."**

To Ibiki and Genma, it felt like hours until her breathing got into check. Once she was calm, she stayed deathly silent.

**Obito started to talk to her in a much softer tone.**

**"What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked. Her shaking slowly started up again though not as intense as before.**

**"He looked like you," she whispered.**

Everything stopped.

**"W... What?"**

**"His eyes were black. His hair was black. He smiled. But he was taller. He had scars. He wanted to hurt me."**

**"Sa—"**

**"He was stronger than me," she choked.**

Genma started to shake his head. No. No, this wasn't going on right now. He hoped to every single deity out there that she wasn't going to say what he thought she was.

**"He held me down. He wouldn't let go. He wouldn't stop. I told him to stop," she whimpered, burying her face in her knees. "** **_I told him to stop._ ** **"**

**Obito quietly gasped in disbelief.**

Ibiki now stood, a normally impassive face cracked by eyes as wide as saucers.

**"He's dead. Dead... But if he's dead..." Sakura's shaking halted. "Why can I still hear him?" And her shoulders slumped forward. "** **_Why can I still feel him on me?_ ** **"**

Suddenly, the smell of old take-out was no longer noticeable.

::

Obito waited on the other side of the path, painfully looking away at the sight before him. It took a while until Sakura passed out from exhaustion of her panic attack. When he was sure that she was out, he very reluctantly went over and took her into his arms.

...

Just a few miles left to Konoha.

...

Bearing the weight of what he witnessed, he wasn't able to detect the pair of brown eyes carefully watching him from the shadows. Sasori had seen the whole thing as well but didn't dare step foot to stop anything. The note he acquired earlier was crumpled in his grasp.

_ If worse comes to worst, I'll have an episode. If I do, make sure no one sees. _

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he murmured as Obito darted off, "but if no one saw, you wouldn't have gotten any help on your own."

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	29. Challenge

"What type of _ sick fuck _ —"

"Shiranui."

"No! You saw what happened out there! Sakura had a panic attack and someone, some lowlife piece of fucking shit, did... did  _ that _ to her! She's absolutely not getting into T&I now! I want her to be safe and this isn't the right place for her!"

"I was going to say that you're in a hospital and you're going to get us kicked out if you keep shouting," Ibiki said. The two were in the sterile white hallways just outside the room Sakura was in. Currently, she was being checked up on by the resident psychologist. Genma crossed his arms and lowered his voice to an angry whisper.

"How can you be so calm about this? No one deserves what she went through!"

"That's true, but if we're going to speak to her as her sensei, then we have to be calm. For her sake. She's been through a lot and she doesn't need even more stress from us."

The senbon wielding jounin grumbled in agreement. The door opened and the psychologist exited the room.

"Haruno-san's perfectly stable and can be discharged later today," the psychologist informed. "All we need is her guardian to fill out all the necessary paperwork. Before I leave, there are some things that need to be addressed about her situation."

Genma internally prepared himself for the worst. The psychologist lowered her voice so that the sparse numbers of passer-bys and Sakura couldn't hear what she had to say.

"I looked over Yamanaka-san's assessment of her and, unfortunately, agree with all his findings. Her trauma is deeply rooted in her mind and will probably take years to overcome. She hasn't said a word about any incident, but there is the case of her bandaged neck," she informed. Ibiki's brow knit.

"She came back physically unharmed."

"She did. The injury came  _ after  _ she arrived at the hospital." At their confused stares, she continued. "When a nurse came to check her vitals, he saw Haruno-san scratching at her neck until it bled in her unconscious state. After examining the wounds, we noticed that build up of scar tissue that suggested her neck was scratched a numerous amount of times before, as well as was healed over just as much. Does she know medical ninjutsu?" she asked. They were aware of the books she read on the subject, but they never saw her even remotely practice it.

"She's... familiar with the concept."

"It's either she's been healing herself or getting help from someone who didn't document it. My guess is the former." The psychologist glanced at her wrist watch. "I'll have a nurse deliver the documents for her release to you. If you'll excuse me, I have to finish my rounds."

At her leaving, Ibiki and Genma slipped into the room. Sakura didn't even glance up at their entrance, keeping her eyes glued to her hands.

"Did I fail the mission?" she asked, voice hoarse. Genma pursed his lips in return. That wasn't a question she should've concerned herself with, especially since she was the one admitted for an unprecedented mental breakdown. He pulled up a stool beside her bed and mustered up a bright grin.

"Nah, you did awesome, kid. I can say that you've carried out that C-rank better than half the chuunin brats I know," he said. She wasn't too convinced.

"But I had an episode. And I heard what you said out there... you weren't trying to be quiet," she mentioned. Genma shrunk a bit under his superior's scathing glare as he took the senbon from his lips and tucked it away.

"We're still more than willing to train you. Come by as much as you do now, but you won't have to worry about that T&I business. A lot of shady shit goes on in there, you know? You wouldn't have liked it anyways."

Sakura's hand went up the chain around her neck—that same one that held the kanji for  _ time _ . She could keep out of the sector and risk getting rid of channels of information at her fingertips, or she could join them and possibly worsen her mental state by learning how to suppress more and learned to live with it.

... Actually, that didn't sound like that bad of an idea.

"Let me join T&I. Please. I promise I won't make trouble with anymore episodes and I'll keep my panic att—"

"Kid, we don't  _ want _ you to keep everything bottled up like that!"

She shut her mouth at Genma's weary expression. He scratched the back of his head: a nervous tick. Ibiki took this moment to step in.

"What he's trying to say is that we want you to recuperate outside of stressors like T&I. Now's not a good time for you to stock your plate with everything that's been going on, so we're trying to spare you that much. You understand, don't you?"

No. She didn't. Her plate's been stacked ever since she got back three years ago and everything had been going just fine. Naruto wasn't always alone and nothing was driving Sasuke to throw his life away. Most of Konoha Twelve was weaved together so tightly that their friendship was guaranteed. All she had left was to get Ino into the mix.

Where was the problem?

"But I can do it. I won't let any of this hold me back."

Genma and Ibiki exchanged glances. She was known for being stubborn when she stood for something as seen early on in her years when she decided to verbally attack the first Academy teacher she ever had. There was also their shared line of thinking. If she wasn't in T&I, ANBU would snatch her up at the slightest opportunity.

She was already on their watch list, after all.

"... Are you sure you want to do this?"

She gave a firm nod, causing Genma to reel back in his chair with a sigh. He loved the kid, but  _ damn _ , she was a handful sometimes. The head interrogator took a seat at the edge of the bed with crossed arms.

"There's one condition," he said.

"Condition...?"

::

"Sakura," Inoichi greeted, "have you ever had therapy before?"

The room was a stark contrast to the rest of the T&I building. The walls were splotched with cooling colors with various old but surprisingly comfortable brown chairs. Sakura settled herself into one of the sagging cushions, still bandaged from her hospital release.

"No."

"Well, then I can tell you that it's not as bad as it sounds. We're going to meet up every Thursday after school for an hour and a half. I can't promise you that these sessions will go by smoothly. There's a problem at hand, and you out of everyone are more than knowing of it."

It didn't take a genius to deduce that every session henceforward was going to be a challenge. At the mention of it, her eyes glazed over into coldness and her face took on the appearance of a blank slate. She was going to be the one who needed the information pried from them in order to make any sort of progress. Not that it was bad, but it was expected.

"Is there anything you want to tell me about him?"

She could keep her mouth shut. There was every right in her hands to withhold what he wanted to know. Sakura's trauma didn't lie within any realms he knew and there was no clear path to his understanding. Two options lay before her. Make it up on the spot or say nothing.

"... He..."

_ "It won't matter if I lose the war, nor when the Allies execute me." _

"He's dead."

Inoichi marked that down on his clipboard. The act was strangely reminiscent of the mental exam he performed on her a little over a week ago.

"How did he die?" he asked. Sakura shifted in her seat. There were a million different things she could've said-- that he died from disease, was murdered, or had already been apprehended by the police.

_ "In the future, you'll be desperate for freedom from your memories. From your failures. From me." _

"I killed him."

::

"Sakura-chan! Where'd you go? Why were you gone so long?! What happened? Why didn' ya say nothin'? Why dya' have bandages?! Didya' go to the hospital? Why dya' look like a boy?!"

Naruto tackled her the second he saw her waiting outside his apartment. With her _ awesomely awesome  _ strength (as he dubbed it), she was able to stay standing when he jumped and latched onto her. His energy was contagious.

"Let's get Sasuke first."

"Then let's go! You owe an esplanation, 'ttebayo!"

"Explanation," she corrected. "And yeah. I do."

Sasuke's reaction to seeing her was something the old him would never have done. He ran up to her, took hold of her shoulders, and spun her around to look for injuries. After deeming she was safe enough and frowning at her bandages, he crossed his arms. "Where'd you go?"

Sakura sighed, a tired smile on her face. She told them about Ibiki and Genma, about how she was doing some studying with them that lead for the two to have her take a series of tests. She didn't disclose what they were about or that she even went out of the village to complete its final components, just that she couldn't find the time to spare for them.

Sasuke said it didn't matter as long as she okay.

Naruto gave her a big bear hug. "But why do you look like a boy?"

Her hair was indeed cut a little shorter for preference and her clothes were part of the a darker color palette, courtesy of Ibiki's and Genma's "shopping spree". She shrugged.

"Who knows."

The Academy was now only a few minutes away, but both her boys had gone decidedly quiet. Her eyes casually moved to the skyline. "You guys know what happened to my house, right?" she asked. Naruto nervously cast his stare to his feet.

"Uh... y-yeah. I mean, a guy told us somethin' and... there was a fire?" he stammered.

"I'm the only one who survived," she said. "You don't have to worry about it. I live with Ibiki-san at the edge of one of the shinobi districts."

Sasuke tapped her shoulder.

"Are you  _ sure  _ you're okay?" he pressed. She pinched his cheek, sending him a few steps to the side with a huge pout on his face accompanied by Naruto's bark of laughter.

"Of course I am. Now tell me, how bad did your grades get the two weeks I was gone?"

As they entered the Academy, Sakura tried to keep her mind off the little scorpion in her pocket. Yori waited patiently for her to send a reply to his master. The note sent was crumpled in beside him. Read, but quickly discarded.

_ I'm sorry. _

::

Hyuuga Hanabi adored her older sister. She didn't care what father said, all that mattered was what she thought of her. Hinata always managed to have a kind smile on her face and spoke encouraging words whatever the circumstance. Really, there was no other person she could say she loved as much as she loved Hinata.

But then her father decided to up her training after she turned four. She couldn't be with her older sister as much anymore. Her training conflicted with Hinata's coming home from the Academy, and whenever she thought she finally had time to play, her sister would be at that... that study group! Why were they so special? She was her sister so she deserved more attention than any of them!

Then there was that  _ Sakura _ . 

Hanabi folded her arms as she sat on the engawa of the Estate. Sakura-san this, Sakura-san that, Sakura-san was so strong, Sakura-san was so smart—but Hinata was already all those things! She didn't need to look up to anyone else.

As she sulked by her lonesome, a shoji door slid open behind her.

"Hanabi-chan?"

The four year old perked up and spun around. "Nee-sama!"

Hinata had to return a smile at the little girl's sparkling grin. She sat on the raised wooden outdoor corridor, facing the vast open space that served more of their father's lessons. Hiashi was a strict man, to say the very least, and demanded excellence in his children.

"Nee-sama, are you busy? We'll play? Or-Or we'll train, right?! Nee-sama?!" Hanabi questioned, practically bouncing in place. The bouncing stopped when what she recognized as the 'sorry smile' crept onto her sister's face.

"Sorry, Hanabi-chan. One of my friend's birthdays is coming up soon and we're planning for it. Sakura-san's coming by and we'll—"

Hanabi suddenly shot up to her feet. Hinata clutched a hand to her chest, surprised, when the girl's face burst into an angry red. "S'always Sakura!" she seethed. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura! Wa' so great 'bout her? You always talk about her but she's no good!"

"O-Oh? I didn't know I talked about her so m-much... I'm sorry, Ha-Hanabi-chan. I didn't know, um, we can hang out to-tomorrow," she suggested nervously, pale cheeks growing pink at the realization of how many times she actually talked about her. "How's that? We c-can do everything you want."

The red in Hanabi's face receded, but the angry frown was still on her face. "But nee-sama! You din' answer!"

Hinata had to give a silent murmur of thanks when there was a knock on the front door. She got up to hurry over to it, Hanabi following just a step or two behind. She clutched the hem of her older sister's skirt as the door opened and pearly eyes landing on someone with bright pink hair. Boy? Or girl?

That person raised a hand and smiled in greeting.

"Hey, Hinata! Ready to go?"

Ah. A girl.

"I-In a moment, Sakura-san, I-I just have to..."

Hanabi's eyes flashed dangerously. She stalked up to the door and glared as hard as a little girl could muster. Nine year old Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Are you Hanabi-san?" she asked. She wasn't too familiar with the youngest child of the main and rarely had any interaction with her in the other timeline. She was kept in a safe place during the war, being the heiress of the clan and all. The girl pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Why're you special?!"

"I'm special?"

"Nee-sama says you are!"

"Did she?"

Hinata was off to the sidelines when all the blood shot to her face in utter embarrassment. Her hands were weakly stretched out in front of her, words not being able to be forced out of her mouth. If it were possible, she got even redder as Hanabi just couldn't find the will to shut up.

"Yeah!" Hanabi growled. "Says you're strong an' smart! Says you're pretty too but boys can't be pretty and you look like a boy!"

Sakura laughed a bit to Hinata's absolute mortification. "Well, your sister's very sweet. I think she's strong, smart, and pretty too," she smiled. Hanabi nodded vigorously, face still clouded in anger.

"Thas' right! So stop stealin' her!"

"Why? I like her."

"I like her more!!"

Sakura bit back a grin. She'd have to take to teasing the little Hyuuga more often. But... She raised her eyes and saw the prone, passed out figure on the genkan.

Maybe she'd teach Hinata how to not faint so much.

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	30. Appearance

_ I need a favor. _

**~H.S.**

\--

_ Anything. _

**~Marionette**

\--

_ Find or make a man fitting the "Tobi" description. Hair, height, scars, everything. Make sure it's recorded that his throat was slit in a small, no-name civilian village four years ago. Konoha may look into my therapy case to prove validity. _

**~H.S.**

\--

_ I'll work on it immediately. You've been in therapy with the blond for a year now, right? How are your sessions? _

**~Marionette**

\--

_ T&I hasn't provided me with any new information. Things have been going smoothly as of late, but expect a kick off by the end of this Academy year. Naruto and Sasuke have been working hard to catch up to me so that we'll graduate sooner. I don't know who our sensei will be, though. _

**~H.S.**

\--

_ That's good to hear. What about your sessions? _

**~Marionette**

\--

_ There have been no updates on anyone I'm keeping tabs on. The clans are quiet and meet to discuss matters with the Hokage twice a month. I may be scheduled to help guard it as part of my training. If I hear anything, I'll let you know. _

**~H.S.**

\--

_ Your sessions. _

**~Marionette**

\--

_ How are Suna and Iwa? _

**~H.S.**

\--

_ I know you're still angry about what I did to you. I admit it. I shouldn't have taken it so far. But the one thing we can't deny is that there is something wrong with you, and the problem is that you'd rather suffer than help yourself. _

_ We have a chance to save everyone. _

_ How are we going to do it if you aren't willing to save yourself? _

**~Marionette**

\--

_ I don't care what happens to me as long as they're happy. _

**~H.S.**

::

Sasori read over their last correspondence with a sigh before burning the evidence. She had a steel will just as hard as her head, and it'd probably take a hit from a sledgehammer to finally knock some sense into her. He slid a plate of fish to Kou from across the table and leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

Nothing was happening in the Akatsuki. Unlike in Sakura's circumstances, there was nothing he could proactively do for or towards the organization. The bijuu weren't needed, he was still at a loss at the sudden change in leadership, and driving Gaara's and Deidara's paths were going by slower than he first anticipated. There was only so much time he could spare in going solo to monitor them.

While he spent half the time with the kids, the other half was used to find out what Yahiko and Konan were hiding. It took nearly two years of poking around with Sakura's help to understand this timeline's Akatsuki origins.

It all started with three children: Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato. War plagued their country, taking what they loved and leaving them orphans. Weeks of surviving led them to find Jiraiya and the sannin: getting their name from Sanshouo no Hanzo after being able to keep their lives. 

So Jiraiya trained the three for as long as he could, left them to their own devices with the best of luck, and returned to Konoha. Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato continued to improve their skills that led them to form the Akatsuki-- a service to those who couldn't afford to ask shinobi villages for help. Granted, they had gained a reputation as 'mercenaries' due to an incident involving three tubes of toothpaste at a zoo, but that was besides the point.

Akatsuki started with just the three of them. First came Zetsu, then Kakuzu, then Nagato broke away. No reason was given except that an argument escalated to places nothing should have gone, tearing the original three apart. Nothing was known about his current status. That in itself was a little troubling considering he was the one who'd previously taken on Pein's persona.

"Sasori-kun~! More fish, nya~!"

"You have some."

"But I finished it!"

"And it's your fault."

Kou whined as he slunk over to rub his fur all over the man's facial region. That was the sight Kisame had unfortunately walked in on. He stared blankly.

"You know, I can pinpoint the exact moment you lost your shit," he said, taking a seat at the table. "Am I going to regret asking what you're doing?"

Sasori pried the cat from his face. At the continued whining, he sighed and ambled over to the fridge to get more fish. "Just received a message from a contact, though  _ apparently  _ their summon feels entitled to more than one whole decently sized mackerel."

Kisame wordlessly eyed the cat's devilish grin. It took a while to get used to Sasori's strangeness, but when it settled, he still felt that there was something was wrong with it. 

One day four years ago, Sasori woke up confused. He asked a million questions he should have already known and looked around the base like he hadn't been in it before. Sasori helped  _ build  _ it. There was no excuse to not knowing where he was.

The brown cat gave a shriek of happiness when another plate of fish slid towards his direction. "Oh Sasori-kun, you're a dear!"

"Thank you. And your fur is as shiny as ever."

People didn't change overnight. Shinobi, especially, had the hardest times changing the monsters they'd grown into. Akasuna no Sasori gained his name by turning the sand red when he traveled Wind Country picking out bodies to use for his specialized jutsu. He even earned himself a reputation of being as sick and heartless as they'd come.

So imagine his disbelief when the man started acting like an eccentric human being. It was like a switch was flipped in his head, and he realized that there was more to life than being locked up in a room turning people into puppets.

"You're not really Sasori, are you?"

The one in question curiously turned his head. His eyes shone with something he couldn't decipher—amusement, maybe? "What makes you say something like that?"

A smile that made Kisame shift in his seat bloomed across the other man's face. There wasn't a fraction of threatening undertone in his expression, only a growing enjoyment. Mockery. Kisame's fingers twitched, almost itching to reach for Samehada. Then he realized that the familiar weight that rested against his back was absent and sitting in the common room.

"You're... weird," he tried to explain. He was never one for words and tried to use hand motions to get his reasoning across. "Ever since that day years ago, you've been  _ weird _ ."

Sasori cocked an eyebrow. "You can't justify calling someone weird by saying they're weird."

Kisame sighed. "Sasori-san, I've known you for six years. For the first two, you only talked when you needed to. I'm pretty sure you hated everyone and everything. Then you just... I don't know, changed or something. One day, you're the S-Class everyone's scared of. The next day, you, it's like you had amnesia or whatever! You got weird."

Kou kept chewing on his food from his spot on the table. He looked to be paying no mind to the conversation as his tail swished back and forth, but his ears were perked up and aimed at the two missing-nin. Sasori hummed and tilted his head.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Probably 'cause you've gone insane, but I'll listen."

His smile widened. "I'm supposed to be dead, but I was brought back into another timeline after spending eighty years in a place called the 'Void'. Well, it was only eight, but time doesn't work the same there than it does here. The person who came back with me said that following my death, a war broke out where over half the shinobi population died. I assume them and I are here to make sure the same doesn't happen here, but it's only been four years and it hasn't been nearly enough to do what I want. I guess you could also say the personality change came from years and years of nothing to do but think.”

Kisame stared for a good ten seconds. "... You're on meds, aren't you?"

Sasori pulled a small bottle from his pocket. "Just gummy vitamins. I'm inclined towards the grape ones."

The ex-Kiri nin shook his head at the bizarre story before getting up and lumbering out the kitchen, saying something about going outside to air out the crazy. When his departure was assured, Kou sat up from his meal.

"Eighty years, " he purred. "That must've been quite the experience. Before, I heard you wanted eternity. Did you get that in the Void?"

Sasori turned his head to face the window. It was a clear day outside—bright and sunny in Tea Country. Orochimaru was off in the nearest village, probably to gather supplies or subjects for his experiments. At the moment, he was the only Akatsuki member in the house.

_ Sasori's eyes snapped open. The only thing he could see was the vastness of silver and blue, a world he didn't recognize. First, he moved his fingers. There was no signature crack of wooden joints, nor the feeling of having no feeling. _

_ "What... is this?" _

_ " _ **You.** _ " _

_ He cringed. The voice enclosed him with their tenor, rattling his brain and piercing through his eardrums. _

_ " _ **Eternity.** _ " _

_ "What?" _

_ " _ **You wanted eternity, did you not?** _ " _

_ Sasori spun around and looked for where or who the voice was coming from. Yet still, there was nothing around him but the steady flow of ever-blending color. His lips turned down into a displeased scowl as he began to walk and find a way out of the damned place. This was a game, wasn't it? Fine. He'd play with whatever trapped him in here. _

_ "If I do?" he bit out. There was a bout of silence before the voice spoke up again. _

_ " _ **Then it will be given to you. Five stages of the dead and dying, Sasori. Then you will understand,** _ " it said. _

_ "Five stages?" he repeated, incredulous. "Of—dead? I'm dead? Wait, what are you talking about?!" _

_ He received no answer. _

"I did. Not in the most orthodox way, of course," he admitted. Kou slunk over to Sasori's relaxed figure and jumped onto his shoulders, causing him to mumble something about 'fish breath'. The cat stretched his body to relieve the pressure in his muscles.

"And what did you think, nya?"

Sasori glanced to the side, eyes growing heavy with the memories of eighty years he wanted to forget. "... Nothing, really."

::

Hinata still brimmed an embarrassed pink as she and Sakura walked down the street to meet up with the rest of their friends.

"Your sister likes you a lot," Sakura mentioned, causing Hinata to darken a little more, "but she's mad at me. I hope I'm not taking all your time away from her. We stay after school sometimes and have study sessions on Fridays or Saturdays. You can miss a few if you want to hang out with Hanabi-san."

They turned a corner to the direction of the Academy in the cool, Saturday afternoon.

"Hanabi-chan... s-she's stronger than me. She's o-only four years old, but-but she's not scared of anything and does better with t-training than I ever did... um, she can't look up to me forever. I'm not g-good enough for that," she mumbled. She looked so sad in that moment that Sakura had to sling an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer.

Hinata squeaked.

"C'mon, Hinata. What's that supposed to mean? You do awesome on tests and assignments and if we do a little more physical training, you'll be even more awesome than you already are!" Sakura encouraged. The Hyuuga flushed even further.

"B-But you, Sasuke-s-san, and N-Naruto-san are going to graduate at the end of the year..."

The other girl lifted a bandaged hand and waved it off. "So what? Just because we get to graduate early doesn't mean we're better than anyone else. And we can still hang out on our off day. Sounds good, right?"

She tucked some stray black hairs behind her ear and nodded, a cute little smile weaseling its way onto her face. As the two of them neared the Academy, someone stepped out the front doors with her hands planted on her hips and her lips pursed.

"We've been waiting for you guys! And I  _ told _ you not to be late too!"

Sakura stuck her tongue out. "We're only five minutes late, Ino."

Ino stuck out her tongue with even greater force in retaliation. She brought Ino to the group by chance about half a year ago. Somehow, Ino learned her father was Sakura's psychiatrist and tagged along to the T&I building every Thursday. It slowly bled into a routine and next thing they knew, she was part of their study group. Thankfully she had enough impatience to get Shikamaru and Kiba to actually do their work. 

Sakura's eyes roamed around the Academy's hallways as she thought about the whole other team of Konoha Twelve. Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Gai... Two of whom had died in the war. She hadn't seen any of them these past years save for that split second she passed by Neji a while back.

With a little digging and eavesdropping, she deduced she had nothing to worry about. Lee still had his chakra coils ruined, Tenten was the daughter of a well-known weapon making family, and Neji was still bitter about the loss of his father and being born as a branch member. They still remained a year ahead of the future rookie nine (now more than likely the rookie six) and would probably stay aligned with Maito Gai in the future.

Ino, Hinata, and Sakura stepped into their usual classroom to see Sasuke, Shino, and Chouji hovering around the chalkboard to write down their own ideas for their planning. Shikamaru, of course, was asleep at a desk, Kiba following suit beside him. Akamaru kept that happy smiling expression as his tail wagged back and forth.

"Shika! Kiba!" Ino shouted, stomping over to the desks. "What did I say 'bout sleeping? Huh? We have a meeting to plan Naruto's birthday, so slack off some other time! Sensei let us use his board!"

"And he's turning ten. Two digits. We have to make sure everything goes by smoothly," Sakura added. She walked up to the chalkboard and read everything listed down. Balloons, confetti, cake, presents... She winced, thinking of the disaster that would come if she let everyone try to make food. Hopefully, Chouji could get someone from the Akimichi Clan to help them out. They've always been some of the best cooks in all of Konoha. And had a mean barbecue recipe.

Besides, it's not like she'd trust any of them in the kitchen. She was positive that letting eight nine year olds around stove tops and ovens was far from responsible.

_ Especially  _ after the potato incident.

Chouji set his piece of chalk down and turned towards Sakura. 

"So for Naruto's presents... what are we going to get him?" he asked. She shrugged as she picked up the chalk he set down and wrote details of her own next to the ideas already listed. Her neat linear handwriting contrasted greatly with the much larger, sloppier ones.

"You still have two weeks to decide. Naruto's not used to getting things and I don't think he's ever had a party before, so I'm sure he'd like whatever you give him. Just put real thought into it," she replied. A newly awakened Kiba brandished a wide yawn.

"Like miso ramen?"

"Or maybe new kunai!"

"What? That's boring!"

"Hey, whose house are we gonna do it at?"

The group slowly crowded themselves around the board and started up an argument about what they should and shouldn't be doing for the party. They were so engrossed in the discussion that they failed to notice Sakura turn her head towards the classroom door then slip into the hallway. Iruka greeted her with a nervous smile, dark fingers tightening around some papers.

"Looks like you guys are, uh, having fun planning for Naruto's birthday. October 10th, right?" he questioned. She nodded slowly, suspicion growing. He fidgeted under her narrowed gaze before succumbing to the pressure and sticking out the paper for her to take.

"I-I—This is what—here, um—for Naruto's birthday!"

Sakura read the title on the first page. Immediately, she cracked a smile as she read through the official documentation. "Don't tell me you're doing this because he accidentally called you 'kaa-chan' that one time."

She remembered that only because she had to apologize afterwards for letting out a small laugh. Iruka had been praising him about a problem he solved correctly, causing the boy to let out the blunder. Their sensei went pink first as he bumped into a desk, then Naruto, after realizing what he'd done, turned as red as Sasuke's favorite tomatoes and hid behind Sakura's shoulder the rest of the day.

"No, no, of course not!" he assured. "I mean, I was surprised when he did it, but this... I've been planning this for a long time. Do you think he'll agree? I even talked to Mari-san about it..."

Sakura nodded. "It'll be the best gift someone could give him."

Iruka grinned, taking the papers back and carefully tucking them into his flak vest. Something like this he couldn't lose now. He had to get through a hell of a lot of paperwork and interviews, even with the Godaime, to get approval for it.

"I'll tell him after your guys' party for him, then. I'll see you all on Monday," he said as he turned around to head home. He looked over his shoulder after a thought. "And let me know if you need any help for it!"

Sakura waved and watched as he turned a corner and disappeared. A breath of relief escaped her. That was one more thing she didn't have to worry about, letting her focus on more important things like graduation or where to get more information on clans.

She spun on her heel to re-enter the classroom, but froze.

The window. The subtle chakra. Someone outside.

Her eyes flashed as they moved to stare out and across the field. In the shade of a tree, a man stood. His one eye bore into her: patient and waiting. He lifted a hand to sign her with the standard code taught to every newly honored chuunin.

**-Do you know who I am, young one?-**

She held in a breath and signed back.

**-Yes.-**

**-Who?-**

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek.

**-Shimura Danzo.-**

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	31. It Killed Her

**-Meet me behind the Hokage Tower. Tell no one. Come alone. Am I understood?-**

Sakura nodded. Danzo inclined his head then slowly retreated into the darkened treeline. She glanced in the classroom, seeing all the happy faces and hearing all their laughter. She stayed for a few moments, content that they all managed to get along so well. Anything Danzo had to say to her better not interfere with everything she had going now.

She held her neck and started off down the hallway. The only eyes that followed her were those of Akamaru, who in turn pawed at Kiba's calves and whined. The Inuzuka pulled himself away from the group to poke his head out the door.

"Sakura? Where're you going?"

She raised a hand without turning around. "Something came up. I'll try to be back in an hour, yeah? If not, I'll explain everything tomorrow," she called. She didn't need to see the thoughtful frown on his face to know that he would have a hard time fully believing what she told him. Eventually, he reluctantly ducked his head back into the room. In that empty hallway, her fingers molded into the tiger seal and she disappeared, leaving nothing but a few leaves from where she once was.

She re-appeared at the shadowed rear of the tower. There wasn't a time she recalled being here outside the years she spent training with Tsunade, but it looked more lush than the last time all that time ago. The Hokage's personal training grounds consisted of a wide, open clearing and trees that swept against the rooftops.

But the clearing wasn't empty. There was a plain black shoulder bag in the very center—

"That's mine," she said.

"It is." 

Danzo made himself visible to her far left, most of him shrouded in the building's overcast. He lifted his wooden cane and pointed it towards the bag. "Get it."

Sakura approached the edge of the field. There was nothing she could do to escape his watchful eye. The only conclusion she could draw was that this was a test. Obviously. Her file and reputation must have circulated within the higher ups, much to her distaste. And now, it was either she fail and shame both Ibiki and Genma's teachings, or succeed and make it further into their radar.

She resisted a sigh.

Honestly,  _ fuck everything _ .

::

"Hokage-sama?"

"Over here, Uchiha-san."

Fugaku, in all the grace of head of a noble clan, strode down the hall. Dan stood in front of one of the windows that faced the southern end of the village. His eyes were troubled oceans as they darted back and forth at whatever, or whoever, he was watching. Fugaku came up to the window and peered out himself, stoic facade cracking when he recognized who it was.

"Haruno Sakura?"

He saw her dodge two projectiles by activating another trap and twisting out of the immediate danger zone. Dan looked at him. "You know her?"

"Sasuke's fond of her company. And of what I've heard, Obito is familiar with her as well," he replied. Down below, jets of fire made themselves known. Grass singed at their touch yet still failed to harm her. She substituted herself with an explosive tag, erupting in a series of traps going off all at once.

"I never expected such connections," the Godaime mused, though mostly to himself. "Who else does she keep in her circle?"

Most of the grounds were destroyed and most, if not all, traps were used. All was barren until a hand popped out from the debris. Another followed, then came the rest of Sakura's unscathed body. She shrugged the bag over her shoulder as she confronted Danzo. Fugaku's eyebrows creased at the display of such skill.

"I did not anticipate for her to be this advanced."

Nostalgia filled Dan's vision as he remembered someone he tried so hard to forget. "Neither did I."

::

Danzo wasn't a man impressed very often. He could count the handful of times he experienced such a feeling brought on from remarkable talent with only the most recent coming from his son's most recent art work. Sakura left the destruction and kept her arms at her side. Emerald showed nothing but a curious waiting for another declaration or order.

"Councilman?"

He forcibly removed the awe from his being. "Close your eyes."

She did so without question. He held onto her shoulder with his free hand and transported the both of them into the bowels of the village. There was a constant chill in the air with steel walkways on various levels suspended over what seemed like an endless pit. The whole place could be described as being modeled after spiderwebs stacked upon spiderwebs. There was no clear route of entrance or exit anywhere in this domain, and one could only hope that fate would never bring them down to the chambers of this frozen hell.

"Open your eyes. Follow me."

Sakura didn't know where she was and followed silently. She made sure to commit every single thing to memory despite not knowing what anything was. If she had to make an educated guess with Danzo's presence as well as the few masked ANBU she spotted on the other levels, there was one place that came to mind.

ROOT Headquarters.

She was in the belly of the beast, and there was nothing she could do about it. She followed Danzo through the weaving paths until they came into what she assumed was his office where he motioned her to sit in the only chair in front of his desk. The room was as bland and cold as the rest of the depths.

"Do you know why you're here, Haruno?"

She looked him dead in the eye. "Because of my extraordinary sense of self?" His blank, brown eye erased all future jabs she thought she'd try out. So there were people who didn't want to bite into a bit of fun, even just a little bit. Fine. Fair enough. "Sorry. I guess I'm here because I was able to get my bag back even with all the traps that were set up."

Danzo took a thick folder and dropped it in front of her. It was her file—most likely obtained through illegal means-- with complete copies of all information, observations, medical records, and a single VCR tape.

"Haruno Sakura, nine years old, about to graduate as a fourth year Academy student even though she had the capability to graduate after one year. Apprentice to Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma and works under the T&I sector. Also documented to have severe post-traumatic stress disorder and has been seeing Yamanaka Inoichi for therapy sessions every Thursday after lessons. Is my information wrong so far?"

Sakura pressed her lips together. "No, sir."

"Then I will continue. She has also been able to use high chuunin to low jounin techniques as seen and confirmed by others at T&I. Her usual selection of friends include Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto," he listed, his voice lingering on that last name longer than she found comfortable. "Speaking of that child, Naruto, you're close to him. Very much so."

Her fingers curled around her seat. "Is... there a problem with it?" she questioned. Her eyes were seething flames as he drew his hands together and rested his chin on his knuckles. As a seasoned shinobi, there was nothing the girl could do to intimidate him. If anything, he should be the one doing the intimidation. 

There was something he needed to know—needed to  _ see _ from the Academy student that Hiruzen off-handedly mentioned he had never seen before in a child.

"No. But you do know that he's nothing but a waste."

Her seat began to splinter in her iron grip. "If that's what you believe councilman, but I have to disagree with you," she answered. Her smile was sweet and unbelievably strained. Danzo took note of it, making the decision to push her even further. Where was it? How far did he have to dig?

What else could he say to see that frigid rage she inflicted on the very first Academy sensei she had?

"He can't even maintain a decent bunshin for more than five minutes. Do you think he can graduate alongside you? A mediocre shinobi at best."

"Then I'll train him," she seethed, "through day and night, rain and hail, blood and bone marrow! What I've been doing with him for years!"

Danzo scoffed. "Please. Him? The only thing he's good for is keeping the Kyuubi in a cage," he dismissed. "Do you want me to begin with the Uchiha as well? He's second rate. The spare heir if Itachi were to become an invalid, which I doubt would ever happen. The boy will never be good enough. Ever. And I can only foresee that he'll be nothing but an embarrassment to the clan."

"Uchiha-sama  _ loves _ him."

"People learn to live with their shame." 

Sakura's eyes were completely wide at this point, jaw hung slightly agape. Is this what he brought her in for? To mock the people she loved the most? He was trying to wind her up, she was positive about it now. No. No, she wouldn't let him have the pleasure of seeing her yell obscenities in his face. She ducked her head down and stayed.

Danzo eyed her bowed over figure, then dared to persist. "What about the Nara boy? Shikaku's son but has nothing to show for it. I don't see why you'd surround yourself with such weak, pathetic people with nothing more to their names but a renowned clan. Take that away, and what are they? Nothing. Useless. Garbage. Like that timid Hyuuga. Hinata, right? What was Hiashi thinking, spawning such an incompetent first born? The youngest will have to take her rightful spot as heir eventually. Maybe even a branch member will take the spot? Either way, it's despicable. Truly."

Not a word from her. Perhaps Hiruzen was wrong after all. There was no notable rage in this young girl. Just another accepting, tight-lipped brat who'd probably fit the ANBU mold just as any prodigy would. A suck up. Someone who didn't stand up for themselves even when they knew it wasn't right.

He was about to dismiss her when her bangs fell to the side, revealing the unholy gleam that surged in her irises.

"Are you done?" she questioned. "Are you done insulting mere children who can't even begin to embody your words, much less stand here in this office to defend themselves? Are you done going off on your digression of lies of kids you don't even know? Are you done insulting the people who are worth more than a hundred of you? Are you done boasting about your absolute, uppity  **_bullshit_ ** , councilman?"

Danzo smirked. 

There it was. What he had been searching for.

"Yes. You may leave now, Haruno," he replied. "Kinoe."

An ANBU member appeared. They wore a cat-like mask detailed with intricate lines of red and green. They knelt on the floor with one hand planted on the ground and the other draped across a bent knee, patiently awaiting an order.

"Return Haruno to the Hokage Tower," he commanded, "we're done here."

Kinoe, or whatever their real name was, nodded once and took Sakura's shoulder to lead her out of the office. She and Danzo maintained burning eye contact until the door shut with a short  _ click _ . He smiled.

She was far from matching the model of a typical Konoha soldier. She was showing to be a rebellious figure who placed her morals and beliefs above the authorities who opposed it. That kind of person in the rankings was more dangerous than not, but it was different. Unique.

That in itself was an interesting enough idea to get behind.

::

Kinoe made her close her eyes again and placed her back to the newly repaired training grounds. What was odd was that the ROOT member didn't immediately disappear once they completed their objective. Rather, the dark depths of the mask bore into her.

"When you said that to Danzo-sama..."

She knew that voice.

"... it was... refreshing."

They vanished. Sakura took in her surroundings, a small part of her anger leaving with the operative. She re-adjusted the strap on her shoulder as she headed back towards the Academy.

"Refreshing? Huh. Glad you kept your sense of humor, Yamato-taichou."

::

_ Pacing around was getting him absolutely nowhere. _

_ Sasori was spending all his time muttering curses to himself. Him? Dead? Killed by the luck of some puny pink haired brat and a dying hag? What kind of madness was this?! He certainly wasn't dead, that's for sure. He was Akasuna no Sasori: a man feared across the shinobi nations. _

_ He wouldn't have died by some little wench's "will of fire". He wouldn't have! Absolutely not! _

_ His eyes darted about the silvery blue hues, mouth turned down in a perpetually discontented frown. There was no way he was going to spend all this damned time in this place. He would find a way out. He would return to exact his revenge. _

_ And nothing was going to stop him. _

Sasori rolled over in his bed with a sigh. Those were the thoughts he had during the first sixteen years of being stuck alone in the Void. He knew he understood nothing, keeping a singular feeling in his heart that specific period of time.

Denial.

And in accordance to what the voice told him, it was only the first stage he had to go through, even if he didn't know it at the time.

::

Maybe he was the one going crazy.

First, Kisame thought Sasori was really losing his marbles with talk of time travel or being caught in a rift between life and death for eighty or whatever years—that also contributing to him losing his shit. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was kind of a valid argument for the case.

It backed the fact that he knew about things he shouldn't have known. For instance, there was the time Sasori was sent to get takeout for dinner. When he came back and gave them each their share (they only thing they requested was something that didn't suck), they all got their favorite dishes from that specific restaurant.

There was no small talk in the Akatsuki. Not much, anyways. Partners knowing partners was to be expected, but knowing the likes of everyone in the organization? No one cared enough to pay attention to that kind of stuff.

They brushed it off as a creepy coincidence.

But then there was another time when Kisame decided to try that weird jello they kept at the back of the fridge. He was about to take a bite of it when Sasori walked into the kitchen.

_ "I don't think you should eat that." _

_ Kisame looked at the cup. "Why? It's expired?" _

_ "No. It has an unhealthy amount of milk in it. Unless you want a day full of cramps and diarrhea, I'd set that down. I told Orochimaru to get the other brand, but he didn't listen," Sasori yawned. He opened a cupboard to take a few protein bars out. When he turned, Kisame was staring straight through him. "What?" _

_ "How did you know?" _

_ "Know...?" _

_ "That I was lactose intolerant. I never said anything about it. Ever." _

_ The redhead shrugged. "Old man's intuition." _

Sasori might appear like he was ignorant of everything, but he definitely wasn't ignorant about people. He knew the personal things that weren't really secrets but were never spoken in a typical conversation. Hell, Sasori even knew how to properly handle Samehada without him having to say a word about it!

Kisame reclined on the couch and rubbed his eyes.

Seriously. Was that guy's insanity contagious?

::

"Um... where're we going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he held onto his friend's hand, looking around curiously, "Shino's? I thought we were all gonna meet up for lunch! But—But we're skippin' school, 'ttebayo! You always said that we should never skip school 'cause it's bad an' we gotta get our ed'cation. But you're skippin' school too!"

His eyes sparkled. "So it's okay to skip school now, huh?!"

He received a chop to the head.

"No, it's not okay."

"But—!"

"We're skipping only today because it's special. October 10th. Does that ring any bells?" she questioned. Naruto squinted and thought real hard about it before scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Uh... am I supposed to know that day?"

Sakura merely let out a small smile and tugged him forward as she quickened her pace towards the Aburame Household.

"You'll see."

She stopped meters from the back gate.

"But first, let me put this blindfold on you. No, like—Naruto! Let me tie it! There's no lake I'm going to push you into!" she exclaimed. Once she fastened the navy blue cloth over his pouting face, she gently led him to Shino's backyard. She grinned at everything set up around them: the people, the decorations, the giddy, suspenseful faces...

"Sakura-chan!" he whined. "What's goin' on?"

"This."

She took his blindfold off.

::

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!"

An enormous, orange banner hung between two trees with that very phrase painted on in gigantic, sweeping strokes with a bowl of ramen right after the exclamation point. A long picnic table sat under that banner and was covered with boxes, a few plants with bows tied onto it, aluminum trays, and cake that looked like his favorite frog coin purse.

Balloons were tied all around the backyard, colored like sunshine and the faintly shining rainbow after a rainy day. But those weren't the things that made Naruto's breath hitch in his throat or made his hands shake in disbelief.

It was the fact that all his friends had run towards him, throwing confetti in the air and shouting 'Happy Birthday' as loud as they could, not caring if the neighbors heard. Their incredibly happy smiles were some of the most genuine he had ever seen and were directed at  _ him _ . For once, he felt that he didn't have to worry about everyone else looking at him like he was stain on the world or a disgusting street rat.

Sasuke, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura...

All of them.

All of them skipped school for his birthday. That one time of the year that everyone was sadder than usual or were angrier at him for some reason. People had to hate him. That's just the way it was. He wasn't meant to have friends or have people like him for him. But ever since he met Sakura at the park when they were five...

Ever since he knew what it was like to be...

Be...!

A teardrop fell next to his feet. Followed by another, then another, and another. Sasuke, alarmed, reached out to touch his shoulder.

"N-Naruto?!"

Streams of tears started to pour out of his eyes and he couldn't stop himself from hiccuping.

"I... I never had..."

He rubbed his face in his orange vest.

"N-Never had anyone.. no o-one—ever...  _ Why _ ?" he sobbed. Naruto's voice cracked at the question, tears falling even faster. Sakura mussed his hair and flashed him a wide grin.

"Because we love you, silly. What other reason is there?"

She hugged him when his bottom lip quivered and buried his face in his shirt.

"Come on. You've got a birthday to celebrate!"

::

Danzo quietly stepped into his two-story house in the far reaches of the village. He saw a pair of shoes neatly placed in the top right hand corner of the genkan. His youngest nephew was home, as usual, and his oldest was probably off with his ROOT duties.

He made his way over to the only lit up room upstairs. He pushed the door open to a sight that he'd become accustomed to ever since he'd brought the two boys under his guardianship. The ten year old was hunched over his study desk with pencil shavings all over the surface. Multiple jars of colored water lined the edges of the table.

"Sai."

Sai looked up from his drawing and smiled. "Welcome home, ji-san!"

Danzo patted his pitch black hair as he looked over the boy's shoulder. Why Sai had decided to be a civilian artist instead of an ink utilizing shinobi, he would never understand, but it was never his choice to make and he respected the child's decision.

"What art have you made today?"

"Oh, you remember that friend I made a long time ago? The one I drew across the street and we talked a bunch after? We hung out awhile ago—well, I was drawing and she was training and we talked at the same time! Then I asked her to do some poses and she did it and now I have a lot of references! See, ji-san! Look at all the cool poses she did!"

He handed the man a thick, worn sketchbook at which Danzo cautiously took into his own hands. He sat down on Sai's messy bed and turned to the first pages. Flowers. How quaint. The next few pages were filled with similar things with rough sketches of different body parts or birds and various types of bugs.

By the middle of the book he came upon the full drawings of people around the village. Merchants, chatting civilians, a kid running with his pet dog, shinobi lounging around—

Haruno Sakura meditating on an open field.

Danzo's eye sharpened. He quickly turned to the next few pages. More civilians, a vendor at a candy stall, a waitress serving tea, the Hokage Tower, a happy couple—

Haruno Sakura performing a roundhouse kick. The next pages:

Haruno Sakura punching a training dummy, Haruno Sakura launching kunai, Haruno Sakura poised in a handstand, Haruno Sakura uppercutting with wrist blades...

"Sakura's cool, huh, ji-san?" Sai grinned. "She said she was going to graduate at the end of the school year! She also said that she won't have as much free as she does now, but that's okay 'cause she promised we'd still hang out even when she becomes a super strong shinobi!"

His nephew didn't have very many friends. Or any at all, actually. Danzo knew that much. He was of the quirky sort who preferred a pencil and a notebook over any social outing. Because of his love for the arts, the teachers at his school had expressed their concerns over his lack of communication with the other kids, or that when he tried he only warded them off with his slightly off putting babbling. For the past few years, Shin had been trying all sorts of ways to get his little brother to get out there and make friends, to no avail.

But it all turned out he had a friend after all. One that Danzo had already left a startlingly horrible impression on.

"Do you two get along well?"

"Yeah! Er, I mean, I really think so. She doesn't avoid me and likes my drawings. And she doesn't think I'm weird either."

The smile on his face wasn't as bright as the ones he'd given before, and it made Danzo return his gaze back to the sketchbook.

"What else makes her a good friend, Sai?"

So Sai went on another tangent on how Sakura was unlike the other kids at school, and Danzo listened.

He listened even as the sun started to droop down the horizon.

::

Naruto cried a second time when he finished opening all his presents. He was tugged into a group hug immediately, much to Sasuke's and Kiba's chagrin, Shikamaru's complete uncaring for it, and Shino's stoicism on the idea.

He received a red scarf from Hinata, a necklace with the whirlpool symbol from Sasuke, a bonsai tree from Shino, cans of spray paint from Kiba (where he had been appropriately smacked in the back of the head by Ino), a habanero chilli plant from Chouji,  _ Tales of a Gutsy Shinobi  _ from Shikamaru (Sakura had to hide her surprise), forever-preserved white egret orchids from Ino, and a set of "special" kunai from Sakura.

He sniffed and wiped at his red eyes, saying how he'd never gotten anything like this before and that they didn't need to do this for him.

"Of course we had to," Shino protested quietly, "because you deserve it."

His was answered with with a bone crushing hug. The Aburame awkwardly patted his back in return, throwing looks at his friends in a silent plea for  _ help _ . He was given none.

Though now night time had struck, and and all good things had to come to an end. The leftovers were split amongst themselves, but Naruto was ordered to keep all of his frog cake because it was his favorite flavor. In the midst of the clean up, the birthday boy called them to attention.

"Uh, guys?"

Eight pairs of eyes were on him. Naruto swallowed as he tugged nervously at the hem of his vest.

"I—I just wanted to say thanks. I... I never had friends like you guys before. And I d-didn't think I would. The adults and other kids really hate me, but you guys still  _ stayed  _ after hearing all that stuff. I just wanted you guys to know that—that you guys are the best, dattebayo! You're the bestest people I know!!"

Sakura's lips tilted up as the rest of them crowded around him. Finally, something truly good had happened in this damn timeline.

But the day wasn't over yet. There was still one more present he had to get.

::

"You sure 'bout helping me carry my stuff home, Sakura-chan? It's late. Don't you have ta' go with bandana guy and senbon guy?"

She shrugged. "Nah, those two won't get mad. I told them about your birthday.”

He wore the red scarf as well as the necklace he was gifted. The book and kunai were tucked safely within his vest, the habanero plant nestled in his arms. Sakura carried both the bonsai tree and the egret orchids with the cans of spray paint balanced on the vase. A clone she made carried all the leftover food. They weaved around the alleyways and climbed up the metal stairs to his apartment door.

Iruka was sitting on the railing, toying with a faded paper as he tapped his feet. Naruto's brow furrowed.

"Sensei?"

The clone set the leftovers beside the door and poofed away. The real Sakura carefully placed the plants and cans right next them and threw the two a smile.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Sensei, Naruto," she bid. She waved before leaving from where she came. Once she was gone, the blond looked up at the chuunin with curious blue eyes. He cocked his head to the side.

"So whatcha' doin' here, Iruka-sensei?"

"I... um..." The paper crumpled slightly in his grip. "I-I have something to ask you. I was waiting for the right moment, a-and I thought it was a good idea to ask it on your birthday," he said. At the boy's wide-eyed stare, Iruka quickly gestured to the things on the floor. "Why don't we take care of all this stuff? It'll get—I mean—I think it's better to talk about it inside!"

An odd look was shot his way, but Naruto complied and opened the door anyways. As they hauled in every last one of his gifts, Iruka took the time to look inside the apartment. It was surprisingly clean for a child, but he supposed the hygiene had to be Sakura's doing. No one else would take the time to make sure their friends had safe households.

"So? Why're you here, sensei?"

Iruka stilled. He took a few seconds to collect himself and to push down the nervous waves he was feeling, then crouched down in front of the boy. He held out the paper for Naruto to take and clasped his hands together in anxiousness.

"Huh? This is..."

_ I,  _ **_Kato Dan_ ** _ , the  _ **_Godaime_ ** _ Hokage of Konohagakure, hereby allow  _ **_Uzumaki Naruto_ ** _ to be sent through the process of official adoption.  _ **_Umino Iruka_ ** _ is the party opting for _ **_Uzumaki Naruto_ ** _ 's adoption, but will further— _

There were only two things that caught Naruto's eye from that introduction. His name and the words 'official adoption'.

"You..." He glanced up in disbelief. "... a... adopt... me?"

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, Naruto. You're a good kid who needs a good home and... Look. I might not be the best person in the world and I make mistakes like everyone else, but I promise you that I'll take care of you. What do you say to that?"

Naruto didn't move. Iruka didn't know what to do when he saw him staring blankly at the official papers. About a minute passed and a word still hadn't been said, causing the man to shift slightly from foot to foot.

"Naru—"

"But you hate the fox," Naruto whispered.

"What? Naruto—"

"I know how everyone stares at me. The people at the shop, the other teachers, even that construction worker in front of Sakura-chan's old apartment. They hate me because I'm the fox. They look at me because I'm the fox. Don't you hate the fox too, sensei?"

Iruka pursed his lips. "I do."

"Then—"

"But that's different," he cut off. "You're talking about the fox. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

Naruto shook his head.

"I see Uzumaki Naruto, citizen of Konohagakure, and one of the best students in my class. I also see a hardworking kid who needs a family, and I'll be  _ damned  _ if I let anything stand in my way to give that to you."

...

And there, in the middle of that apartment crammed in the heart of the Akasen, was where Naruto cried for the third time that day.

::

Inoichi fiddled with his drink as he sat with Chouza and Shikaku. It was just another typical Thursday drinking night with the guys. The Yamanaka had been somewhat distracted that entire time, going into deep thought every now and then or being unusually clumsy with the things he handled. Chouza finally had enough of this and pinned his long time friend with a pointed stare.

"Alright, what's been up with you lately? The only thing that affects you like this is either Ino or work, and I know Ino hasn't done anything. What happened at work?" he questioned. Shikaku leaned forward, he too wondering the reason for the other man's peculiar behavior. Inoichi sighed.

"It's one of my patients. A recent recruit in the T&I sector," he said. He wasn't allowed to give out names or personal details of the case due to patient confidentiality, but he knew his friends were smart enough to pick up the obvious hints he laid out. Shikaku's eyes narrowed.

"Go on."

"You both know that I can't disclose much more information than that, but... I hate her case. That's the only way I can really put it."

"Hate?" Chouza repeated.

"Her very being was absolutely  _ destroyed _ . I've never seen anything so severe."

Inoichi looked back down at his drink. "The cause of her trauma... it... it killed her. It just killed her. And I hate it because I don't think she'll recover from what she went through. The therapy hasn't done a thing and I'm not even considering prescribing her any medication. Bottom line, what she lost she's never going to get back, and I can't do anything to fix it.”

::

**EDITED 2/1/18**


	32. Living

Ibiki walked into the living room to see Sakura curled up on the corner of the couch, pale and sniffling as she read through the old beat up journal she always seemed to carry around. He raised an eyebrow at the display. "You're sick?" he asked. She shook her head once as she held up a vial of an opaque orange liquid.

"No, mithridatism. Heard of it, old man?"

"The practice where you're poisoning yourself with non-lethal doses? Yeah, but I don't know anyone that does it. Just make sure the poison you're taking won't do more than give you a cold. Get worse doing this and you won't be doing it anymore."

"Okay," she replied, rubbing at her eyes. "You're back early. Do you have something for me or is Anko-san going to break another part of the house again?"

Ever since being admitted into T&I, Anko had been breaking into the house at any chance she got. That had resulted in even more broken windows, holes in walls, tampered vents, and various markings from explosions. Ibiki, as expected, was far from pleased from having to repair the damages at least once a week. He rolled his eyes.

"I threatened to take her off the roster again if she kept it up. That should keep her down for at least a few weeks, but I'm not here just to give you the good news. I'm here to take you to your first interrogation," he said. Sakura shut the journal and casually let her gaze drift up to him.

"Really?"

"Come on."

She placed Mito's journal on the coffee table as she slid off the couch, tugged on a gray sweater, and pulled a navy blue beanie over her head. She disregarded Ibiki's snort and mutters of something like "damn kids and their poisons" before following him out of the house. By now, the neighbors were used to seeing her out and about the Morino residence. Most of them didn't really care, seeing as most shinobi tended to their own problems and could care less about some odd kid moving into the house of the infamous interrogator. If she thought about it she'd say that there was no official meeting in this shinobi district.

Compared to the warm, welcoming streets of civilian communities, Sakura could say that shinobi were far quieter and more distant from each other. There was no idle chatter in front of doors or people walking their dogs as they waved at acquaintances. People only hung outside their homes to either tend to a small garden or get the mail.

But she supposed this was how it always would be. Experienced shinobi lived in these parts, and the pain carved in their bones through years of staying in the career held enough reason as to why they wouldn't take the time to even say hello to a stranger.

"So what type of interrogation is it?" she questioned, "Waterboarding? Sensory bombardment? And how did you get Genma-san to go along with it?"

Ibiki snorted. "Do you really think that I was going to give you the fun stuff on your first go? Because I'm not, and that's the only reason Shiranui agreed to it. Your charge is a woman who was found unconscious in front of the Northern gates two days ago when you were at the blond brat's birthday party. Just woke up an hour ago and hasn't been seen by Hokage-sama yet."

They rounded a row of houses to walk down the longer path to the hospital. The road was lined with stiff trees and covered in crunchy, warm colored leaves. Winter had already begun nipping at their feet and would blow its first winds in the next few or so weeks. Ibiki inclined his head.

"All I want you to do is use five of the twenty-one question types I taught you. Nothing too big. Try to be as unbiased as possible. Find out how she got at the gates and what she was doing prior to getting there," he explained. The two of them slowly came upon one of the hospital buildings where Sakura stopped a few meters away from the entrance, her eyes surveying all the windows above her.

"Which room is hers?"

Ibiki pointed towards the right. "Fifth floor. The one with an aloe plant by the window."

Sakura nodded and walked forward to press a foot against the side of the building and beginning to carefully walk up the wall.

"Don't do anything stupid," he called lowly. "She's not like any regular kunoichi—she's Hokage-sama's niece."

::

Of all the places she could've woken up in, Konoha Hospital was very far down the list of possibilities. Shizune gazed around the room of the place she come to be familiar with in her younger years with a slight downturn to her lips. Her ribs still had a long way to fully healing and her left arm had a relatively long gash down the length. If her chakra replenished just a bit faster, she could have herself healed and find a way out before the Hokage could come in to check up on her. Or before they sent in an interrogator.

Her head jerked to the side when the window slid open and a little girl tumbled in, hitting the ground with an "ow" and a sneeze. She then stood up and stretched her arms over her head and sniffled a bit as she did so. Shizune regarded the newcomer with a curious stare. "Um, hello."

"Hi," the girl yawned. She sat down on the stool next to the bed. "I'm Sakura."

"Oh, uh... nice to meet you, Sakura. I'm Kato Shizune," the woman replied, still confused. Did the girl come from the pediatric ward or something like that? Though if that were true, she probably wouldn't have crawled through the window of the same building to escape. Sakura's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Kato? Hokage-sama has that name too! Did you know that?"

Shizune froze. "I—no... Dan-oji became... became Hokage?" she whispered.

"He's your uncle? I didn't know Hokage-sama had family members. But he's a really nice guy. He gave me a journal a long time ago before he took office. It was written by Uzumaki Mito and it had a lot of stuff about chakra control and healing. I didn't know those two things go together like that," Sakura said. Shizune guessed at this point that the girl was mostly harmless if not a bit of a precocious thinker. Just an odd girl who had a cold.

"Chakra control and healing go hand in hand perfectly, Sakura-san. In order to heal, you need great amounts of chakra control. If you want to be smart about it, you have to realize that early on."

"Realize it early on?" Sakura repeated. "So you realized it early on, didn't you?"

Shizune nodded. "I had to. My mentor was very adamant about it."

"They seem like a really tough person," the girl asked. The woman scratched the back of her head, thinking that perhaps she was talking too much about the subject. "That's good, right? To have a good mentor like that. I'm trying to learn about healing, but all I know is from the books I read. But I can do this!"

Sakura held up her hands as they started to glow a faint green. Shizune, stunned and mesmerized, couldn't stop herself from reaching out to hold the girl's wrists.

"You're so young... how old are you, exactly?"

"Nine, Kato-san. I’m graduate the Academy the end of the school year."

Shizune frowned. That was a surprise considering they were no longer in times of war. Because of the lack of a needs of swarms of new recruits for the front lines, Academy students were expected to take every single year required to graduate. Her being promoted to genin three years ahead of the appropriate time meant that her previous assumptions were incorrect. This certainly wasn't  _ just  _ a precocious girl—there was something more. Something she wasn't grasping.

"So if you're a medic, how come I haven't seen you here before? I'm at the hospital a lot and I'm sure I would've seen you by now. Are you a Konoha shinobi?"

"I was, but that was a long time ago," she said. She juggled the thought in her mind for a bit, deciding whether or not she should actually come out and say it. "I left with my mentor quite a while back and haven't been here since."

It looked as if a light bulb suddenly lit up over the child's head. "If you left a long time ago and practice healing, then that means you're Tsunade-sama's student, right?" Sakura exclaimed. "I read a lot about her!" A puzzled look took over her expression. "But nobody's ever found you guys. How did you get here?" 

Shizune shifted in her spot on the hospital bed, feeling the slight softness of the white sheets against her tired, previously blood-stained fingers. She offered the girl a sad and disarming smile. "I'm sorry, I don't really remember that part."

Sakura stood and walked over to the other side of the room where she took some tissues and blew her nose. When she turned to face the patient, her eyes had lost their child-like shine and her mouth flattened into a hard line. 

"You are in one of the greatest shinobi villages the world has come to know. There are thousands of operatives, those including interrogators who will  _ not hesitate  _ to split your brain open to get the information they want. I am going to ask you the question a second time. Are you going to lie to me again?" she asked, her head cocked to the side. The air in Shizune's throat rushed out in one moment.

The cold tone, the demanding air that left no room for argument, that bluntness of a threat if they didn't get what they wanted...

She sounded exactly like Tsunade.

"... No," the woman relented. "I won't."

"So, Kato-san, how did you get here and what did you do to get here?"

The seriousness left her face as quickly as it came as she sat back down on the stool. She waited quietly for the woman to collect herself and tell the reasoning of her being here.

"Tsunade-sama and I were traveling as per usual, but I don't remember what country we were in at the time. Some people came demanding that she pay a debt I'd never heard of though I'm sure they only came because the price on her head is so high. I was injured during that battle and the last thing I remember was Tsunade-sama yelling at me before everything went black. Then..." she frowned. "... Then I ended up here."

Sakura stared at her for a long while, grinning only when she was content with the answer. "Thank you for your cooperation."

The door slid open. Dan stepped into the room, Ibiki leaning in the doorway looking casually intimidating. If his outfit said anything, it was that he was an interrogator of the village. And a high ranking one, at that. He jerked his head to the side.

"C'mon, kid. We're done here," he said. The girl nodded and took one last look at the surprised Shizune.

"Have a good rest of your day, Kato-san."

::

"I-I tried talking to nee-san and Kankuro again."

"And what did you do?"

"I..  left before they said anything," Gaara admitted. He sat at the river like he did so many times before, the only person he considered his friend at his side as they basked in the pale moonlight. Sasori patted his head.

"At least you tried this time. You've made a lot of progress, and that's good," he said, "I'm sure you and your siblings will start being friends sooner or later if you really try. The only thing I'm concerned about is how you and your uncle are doing."

Gaara leaned against his gourd of sand. Yashamaru, huh? Still after all these years, he had tried and tried and tried to rebuild the relationship he lost. But he just couldn't do it. His uncle tried to blow himself up in hopes to commit a murder suicide. And what, he was just going to forgive that? Yashamaru was the only person he trusted back then and he  _ didn't even care _ .

"He tried to kill me, Sasori. He hates me."

"Well if he hated you so much, how come he's trying so hard to come back into your life? You can run away as much as you want, but the problem is going to catch up eventually. It could be the next few weeks—next few years, even. But that doesn't change the fact that it'll jump you when you least expect it."

The nine year old tried to hide himself behind his gourd even more. Sasori was right. Like always. "But..."

A sense of dread swirled in his stomach.

"... It's hard, Sasori."

_ "Sakura-san, you know that the war never happened here. Your friends are alive and the village is safe." _

_ She sighed. "I know." _

_ "You don't have to worry more than you should. You're a kid again. Shouldn't you enjoy it?" _

_ She gazed at herself in the mirror across the room, taking in the bags under her eyes and the rigid guard in her form. For a moment, she saw her twenty-three year old self—tired with no longer a sense of hope. _

_ "... It's hard, Sasori-san." _

_ "I know." _

Sasori blinked away the memory of four years ago. A frown immediately creased his face as he looked at the boy; his sadness was deathly similar to that of Sakura's. Granted, their trauma lay on two completely different planes, but there was an unfortunate semblance between them.

Sakura's was much harsher and more ingrained in her soul than Gaara's. He kept that constant persistence of trying to get her help and telling her that she'd make it through. That she'd get better. That Obito was gone and Sachiko would have loved her all the same.

But they both knew just how bad it was. Four years had passed and her condition was only getting worse. He wasn't able to watch over her even at this point—who would stop her from trying to kill herself again if the chance arose?

Sasori looked at Gaara. He wouldn't let the boy get even remotely close to Sakura's level of hurt. He hated to think it, but she might be too far gone for a full recovery. He would still try and persevere, of course, but he also had to make sure Gaara would patch things up with his family as quickly as possible.

_ 'Then there's also Deidara to worry about.' _

He sighed. So much to do, so much to do. But at least in this time he learned how to be a patient person.

"Sasori?"

He glanced over. "Hm."

"Why do you look like that? You look sad. And tired."

"I was just thinking of someone," he hummed, looking towards the glistening waters. "Her heart's very, very sick. So thinking about it makes me a little sad sometimes."

Gaara scooted closer to him, eyes wide with curiosity. "Her heart's sick? So she has a disease?"

"Something like that."

A disease was one way to put it. The virus in her bloodstream were her memories that latched onto every cell to feed off her happiness and will to live. She tried to take a medicine for it as well, trying to cure her illness with dreams of blood and darkness only for her to wake up, idly noting that the pills didn't work but she'd continue to take them anyways.

So yes; a disease. The kind that killed one from the inside out.

But would it be considered a murderer if the person dying was already dead?

"How did she get the disease?" the boy questioned. Sasori shut his eyes as the image of a fifteen year old Sakura came to mind. Her eyes were fire and her resolve was true, and sometimes he wondered how that version of her, who had so easily defeated him, perished so quickly.

"She gave too much of herself to the people she loved."

Gaara's brow furrowed. "Well if she was getting so sick, why didn't they see? Didn't they give it back to her?"

Sasori repressed a hollow chuckle as he thought of the rasengan and the chidori.

"They gave something back to her. But it only made things worse," he sighed. "Maybe you'll meet her one day. I'm sure you'll be good friends." He stood up and stretched. "But enough that. Instead, we'll talk about your situation. Let's do a little role playing to get you talking to your uncle again. You be you, and I'll be Yashamaru. What will you say to me if I walk towards you?"

Gaara stood up nervously, unconsciously throwing a look over his shoulder. The Akatsuki member crossed his arms.

"And  _ no _ , running away isn't an option."

::

"Six question types instead of five. Not bad. I even appreciated that threat at the end of the interrogation," Ibiki mused. Sakura shrugged. Closed, echo, double-bind, tag, probing, and Columbo questions were never too hard to grasp.

"Everyone knows Hokage-sama has been looking for Senju-san and Kato-san for a long time. It's not like he wasn't going to get the information sooner or later," she replied. The two of them took the route down to the T&I building, where the interrogator raised an eyebrow at her still being at her side.

"It's a Saturday. You're never free on a Saturday."

She shrugged again, this time holding the crook of her elbow up to her face and sneezing. She grumbled to herself about possibly taking too much poison. "True, but everyone's busy. Sasuke is training with Uchiha-san, Hinata is with her younger sister, Shino is out on errands with his father, Kiba's lazy, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino are doing their Ino-Shika-Cho training, and Naruto's moving," she informed. Ibiki delves into his curiosity on that last statement.

"Moving?"

"He was adopted two days ago," she smiled. It was small one, but happier than many of the ones she gave. "By our sensei: Umino Iruka. He told me about it a couple weeks ago."

"What's he like?"

"He's an optimistic nineteen year old who thinks math is fun. What do you think?"

Ibiki grunted. "I'd rather take a brat who likes math over a crazy bitch who stabs people's eyes with dango sticks. The roster threat didn't work, by the way. Don't be surprised if she hauls you out of the building like she did last time."

Sakura groaned. He spared her one last side glance before looking to the road ahead of him. Just recently, Inoichi had provided him with a progress report about how her therapy sessions were playing out. Unfortunately, just as all the other times, there was little to no progress. She told nothing they didn't already know.

It had already been a year. Was there nothing that could be done for her to get better?

"Sakura."

She turned to look at him. "Yeah, old man?"

He stopped walking. They're just a few blocks away from T&I now and on one of the older roads that hugged the towering walls. Ibiki's face was as plain as always, letting nothing past that impervious mask of his.

"Why won't you let Yamanaka help you?" he asked. She moved her gaze to the ground. "I don't know if others see it, but you barely sleep, you never talk about yourself, and once someone tries to break through your shell you retreat. I'm the head of interrogation. How long did you think it would take me to figure out that you refuse to get close to people because you're afraid?"

Her eyes snapped up to him. "I'm not afraid—"

"Then why did you take a step back when I asked the question?"

He'd caught her. Sakura locked eyes with him for a few seconds before shutting her eyes and turning her whole face with a heavy sigh. There's nothing she could say or do now. She was backed in a corner with nowhere else to run.

"... Can we talk about this later?"

"Later," he agreed. Sakura reduced the urge to fully berate herself right in front of him.

Head of interrogation.

How could she be so  _ stupid _ ?

::

No one said a word. Shizune had her eyes on the bandages that covered her arm and Dan had his out the window to gaze at the blue skies in the distance. The silence was nothing new to them, as it had been left to boil for over a decade once she had decided to leave with Tsunade that fateful day. Surprisingly, it was the younger who spoke first with her voice filled with a particular sort of hardness to them.

"We're not in a time of war," she said. "Why are you allowing a young girl to be part of a sector like T&I? I thought you were against that sort."

"I am."

"Then why did you let her?"

"I couldn't stop her. You've known her for only a few minutes, but you've seen what kind of person she is. Many have tried to persuade her from it, but her decision stands firm. Besides, it's my job as Hokage to promote growth, not prevent it," he returned. Shizune did not react to her uncle's words, only gripping her sheets even tighter.

"Tsunade-sama is alive and well."

Dan's eyes softened. "But you know that even now, she doesn't want to be found."

His robes fluttered a bit behind him as he walked around the bed and sat on the chair. He was every bit as kind as the day she left him, she noted wistfully, and looked to hold nothing against her even after her blatant betrayal of him.

"That's... fine. For now," he said. "But I have my niece back. And that's more than enough." 

Dan smiled, and it was hard not to return it.

::

**EDITED 2/3/18**


	33. Deserving

She had gotten good at hiding her worry and surprise.

It was like when Ibiki told her Shizune had appeared—she didn't tense or make a face near relief but had accepted it with a curious and interested facade. Or it was when she learned Tsunade was still alive and well. Her heart filled with the thought that her mentor was off living her wandering life, but she kept her face at its most neutral as she kept her pulse to a normal beat.

The one thing she couldn't hope to hide was her fear. It was most apparent the days she spent on that examination mission. She knew Obito would never hurt her and that he was as innocent as they came, but everything was too overwhelming and it all fell to pieces with the snap of one's fingers. She couldn't control it. She let herself go.

And look at where it had brought her! That one slip up earned her weekly therapy sessions and offered everyone a look at just how bad she let her trauma take over. Now...

Sakura folded her hands in her lap as she inspected a spec of dust on the table. Ibiki sat on the other end, arms crossed and a blank look to his features. There were no stars in the sky that night, only clouds that took their time to crawl over the country for the extremely rare chance of rain. Chance. It didn't always mean it would happen.

"So," Ibiki began, "do you want me to ask questions or are you willing to tell me everything yourself?"

She didn't raise her head. "Ask me. It’s easier for you to find out what you want to know that way."

He nodded in agreement. Ibiki then reached into his overcoat to dig in the many hidden pockets he had. Finally finding the thing he'd been searching for, he pulled it out and set it on the center of the table.

_ Clink. _

"First, how about you tell me what these are?"

Sakura's hand clasped around her eyes as she let out a strangled sigh. The glass bottle he placed in front of her was half filled with circular blue pills.

How many times was she going to fuck up? Just how many?

"Those are my sleeping pills."

"Highly potent and very much illegal. How did you get your hands on these?"

"From a friend."

"Who's your friend?"

Sakura stared at him, tight-lipped. There was no possible way she would ever rat Sasori out even for the sake of possibly being prosecuted for having unregulated substances. Ibiki had most likely taken a sample and ran it through various tests at the lab. She imagined that they hadn't gotten very far in deciphering the medicine's blueprint—it was made by one of the most infamous poison experts of their time. She could only hope the ingredients he used didn't come from only one traceable area.

Ibiki sighed inwardly. "At least tell me your friend isn't in any way a danger to Konoha."

She crossed her arms. "They aren't. They know how important the village is to me," she said. Her voice was even and didn't show any discomfort or nervousness that was clearly present in her physical being. But he knew better. Her tone may not have given anything away, but there was no underlying sincerity when she talked about the village. Yes, she was strong and yes, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Did her fierce loyalty apply to the system and the village as a whole?

No. It was obvious that it didn't.

"What makes you so sure?" he questioned. "By the looks of it, your friend isn't our normal branding if they're able to get their hands on pills like those, civilian or shinobi. And if I had to guess, they're not a part of Konoha."

There was no change in Sakura's face, so he prompted her further.

"Isn't your friend afraid of the consequences that come with these actions?"

"If I'm not, what reason would they have to be?" she countered. Her eyes met his for a brief moment before she looked back down at the table's surface. Ibiki glanced at the pill bottle. Sometimes she was a contradiction, acting fearless in any situation but holding a horrible, unconquerable fear away from prying eyes. He believed that she truly would stand for herself no matter the circumstances that came her way, but the panic attack that bore her soul said otherwise.

He cast the topic aside and brought up a new one.

"Tell me why you've resorted to using illegal drugs," he said. Ibiki wasn't a man to beg and couldn't remember a time when he'd actually done so. He certainly wasn't doing such at the moment, but there was an underlying plead in his voice. He'd known Sakura for a long time now, nearly five years. An interrogator he might be, but it didn't mean he took pleasure in seeing people he was acquainted with drowning in their pain.

"... I can't sleep. You know that," she murmured. "What else do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say why you chose pills over Yamanaka's help. He wants to see you get better with every session you've had together, but you won't let him You're distant, closed off, and because of it you're hurting yourself. How long do you think it'll be 'till this eats you al--"

Sakura slammed her fist on the table, the sound resonating through the rest of the house. She was on her feet with teeth flashing and eyes pulsing with years of suffering and unshed tears. 

"Don't talk about me like you know me! Do you know how hard it is? To  _ live  _ with what I've been through?!" she hissed. "Do you know what it's like to live every second of every day remembering the things that happened to me? Every time I try to forget and close my eyes, I see him laughing. He's laughing because he knows he's won and I couldn't do a  _ damn  _ thing about it no matter how much I tried!"

Her fingers curled to press into the calloused palms of her hands. "I know it hurts. I know what it's doing to me. How many times do you think I've tried to..." She let the words die on her lips as she sat back down. "I wasn't strong enough, so this is my punishment for what I couldn't do."

She looked like an empty shell of a person, perhaps a sinner accepting eternal damnation without a wish for redemption. There was no hope in her being and her mind was warped to the point where she was becoming more of a danger to herself than to others.

But she was broken. Horribly so. That was the only way he could describe it. Perhaps she was thinking of her parents. They had been the most recent death to her, after all.

Unbeknownst to him, he was far off the mark. Sakura's mind filled with a single scene: her older self stood in the snow beside an inn, tears frozen on her cheeks as she peered through the window as it gave her a perfect view of the crib across the room and the quiet, black-haired baby sleeping inside.

"Why does not being strong enough mean that you're unworthy of getting better?" he asked. He didn't expect the hollow chuckle that slipped out her lips.

"Look at me," she whispered. Her head raised, a completely miserable smile complementing the agony threaded through her irises. "Do you think I deserve something like that?"

She did. She, out of everyone he knew, deserved all the help and happiness she could get. But when she looked at him like that, Ibiki couldn't bring himself to say a word.

::

Iruka was surprised at how responsible Naruto was, or showed himself to be. They spent most of the day packing and cleaning the apartment, then moving it across the village to the much better housing districts. There wasn't much to pack, Iruka noted with slight distaste, and made a note to buy more clothes and school materials for the boy.

That wasn't the only strange thing about the apartment. He noticed the protection seals at every window and doorway, Naruto affectionately dubbing them "Sakura-chan's stickers!". Of course Sakura had been taking care of him even before the Academy. He'd be more shocked if she didn't.

"Sensei! Sensei!" Naruto called. Iruka set down the box of the boy's recent birthday gifts and walked into the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the dining room table set up with two plates of curry rice steaming and waiting to be eaten.

"You... made this?"

"Yeah!" the blond exclaimed. He scurried to stand in front of Iruka, then shyly glanced to the side at the astonished look on his new caretaker's face. "I, um... I-It's a thank you. For, you know, adopting me and stuff. Is that okay?"

Iruka smiled, knelt down and brought him into a hug. "Oh, Naruto... there's nothing you need to thank me for."

::

_ Sixteen years he'd been here. Or at least, that's how long he counted. _

_ At this point, he accepted the fact that he was stuck in this gray-blue place he'd never get out of. It didn't matter how much he searched or how far he walked, he never got anywhere and he never got tired. An impossibility. But an impossibility that had all this time to seep into his mind and make it known that this is where he'd be for the rest of his life. Or what remained of it. _

_ Once he figured out that much, he was livid. _

_ He fought his wars and he battled the demons that were ferocious shinobi and kunoichi-- what more was there to this? Wasn't it his time to die? What more was there to this? _

_ "SIXTEEN YEARS!!" Sasori screamed, "WHAT DO YOU  _ **_WANT_ ** _ FROM ME?!" _

_ And so he screamed and screamed towards the world that trapped him, his throat not getting any wearier, his lungs not losing a single breath, and his rage seeping into every part of his undead being. _

Sasori blinked away the memory and went back to fixing one of his puppets. He and Orochimaru had just finished a joint mission with Kisame and they were on their next few days of rest and recovery. Orochimaru was down in his research lab and he and the ex-Kiri nin were in the kitchen, Kisame leaning against the fridge and he working on the table.

He was also aware of the pair of eyes that drilled into the back of his head.

"Something you need, Kisame?" he questioned airily. Sasori heard something shift behind him and heard maybe the sound of a glass being set down on the counter.

"If you really were from the future, hypothetically, of course, just what are you trying to change?"

"Preventing a war and the death of half the shinobi population. And stopping people from making wrong decisions, sometimes steering them onto a different path than before. Hypothetically speaking," he answered. There was more uncomfortable shifting.

"So hypothetically, you know about what's going to happen."

"This world's different from what I know, but there are some consistencies. We're looking at individuals rather than the bigger picture at this point, and it's working as far as I know," he said. He placed his work down before he tipped his head back, smiling at the gravely serious expression on his associate's face. "Hypothetically."

Kisame looked away. "Yeah... hypothetically."

::

"Don't leave me here," Sakura growled under her breath. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Dying isn't on my to-do list today. I have a schedule."

Genma blinked at the shuriken shot in his direction, mildly thankful that a thick two-way mirror stood between him and the currently occupied interrogation room. He sighed and toyed with the senbon in his mouth. "It ain't my fault, kid. She found my apartment and raided the place clean before hauling me off to find you. I don't like leaving you with her, but Hokage-sama gave me a mission today."

"A  _ whole day  _ with Anko-san?"

"Morino-san already confiscated her explosive tags so you won't have to worry about it like last time."

Because last time she was with Anko for a whole twenty-four hours, the jounin decided to train her by planting explosive tags all over the training grounds and having her dodge each blast to come out unscathed. What Sakura didn't think to account for was that Anko was truly, honestly, crazy, and that she'd actually use over two-hundred tags. Needless to say, the resulting blasts mutilated the training grounds and took out part of Konoha's surrounding walls.

Dan was sure to give them a stern reprimanding, additionally assigning Anko guard duty for a month and barring her from taking any mission above a C until he saw fit.

Sakura groaned. "I guess I don't have a choice."

"Good luck kid. You'll need it," Genma bid. He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze before heading out of the building. Sakura opened the door and walked up beside Anko, where she was hoisting up the woman being interrogated. Her painted lips were stained redder with the blood she coughed up, and her fair skin burned at the places that were bound to the chair.

"Sakura! Had enough gossip?" Anko grinned. She let the captured Kiri-nin slump down, the exposed green eye of the prisoner void of feeling. The eye was trained on Sakura, though a flicker of curiosity appeared before fading as quickly as it came.

"Ah, shit. Right. Well, stay with the captive for a few minutes while I get a few things. 'Kay? 'Kay."

Sakura watched her go with a raised brow. If Ibiki caught wind of her being left alone with a dangerous kunoichi under Anko's watch, then he'd definitely kill her. Absolutely. She cast her stare back at the woman bound to the chair and took a step closer.

"I heard something snap earlier. I think your arm is broken."

The kunoichi merely stared. After waiting a few more seconds for a reply and getting nothing, Sakura let her hand glow a soft green as she placed it on the woman's forehead. She was awarded a surprised glance for the action and a slightly agape mouth when she started to feel the internal damage start to repair.

"She can go a little overboard sometimes," the girl said. "I read the file. You shouldn't be interrogated  _ this  _ bad for what you did."

She withdrew her hand a second before Anko burst into the room, a maniacal light in her eyes. "Alright, let's go! We gotta get a move on for training!" she crowed. Her eyes then went up to the kunoichi whose ankle-length auburn hair still looked neat despite the earlier torture. "I'm done with you for today. Be sure to thank the gods for that one."

Inoichi made his appearance and entered the room, nodding to Sakura in greeting before laying his tools down on the table to have his turn at interrogation. Anko began to babble as she and her student made their way out, the girl not listening to a single word she said. That sole green eye was still on her back, watching her until she disappeared from view.

Sakura didn't mind. That kunoichi in particular could help her in the future some way, somehow with her particular skill set. She was formidable in the old timeline and held a rare chakra nature that was found in only a handful of shinobi across the nations.

Terumi Mei.

Sakura wondered how much longer she would humor the interrogators until she made her escape.

::

Anko prided herself as someone people generalized without realizing just how much she was capable of. For example, people said she was loud, crude, and reckless. And it was true. But what people didn't think to describe her as observant, and it was probably the last thing people ever thought of her.

They all seemed to forget that she was a pupil of Orochimaru back in the day, so he would make sure she knew how to act as a normal shinobi should. Quiet, stealthy, and vigilant were only some of the things she was capable of but didn't care to show on a normal basis, hence why many didn't think she knew what the meaning of those words were.

When she trained Sakura, she had to abandon her usual persona sometimes. The girl was just so serious and dangerous that she had to keep herself on high alert just in case things went South. That, and she was on the suicide watch list. Anko couldn't afford to take her eyes off her.

Plus, this training wasn't the normal kind. They were going to be one of many shinobi "training" in those fields as a Clans of Konoha meeting took place near their general area. Her and the girl were going to be part of the guards for the day and wouldn't leave their post until each one of the clan heads returned safely to their home.

"Is the meeting in the Nara Research Facility?" Sakura questioned. Anko looked at her and saw that the girl's gaze was pointed to the general area. The tokubetsu jounin gave a sharp grin as she barked out a laugh.

"What meeting are you talking about, pipsqueak? We're here to train."

Sakura wasn't supposed to know what was going on, much less  _ where  _ it was taking place. Anko abruptly shunshinned to the far end of the path, leaving Haruno to stop in her tracks to look ahead suspiciously. "Anko-san?"

"Training starts now!"

The woman held wires in her mouth as her hands went through four distinct seals: snake, dragon, rabbit, then tiger. Sakura very suddenly became aware of the chakra wire encircling her, as well as the tens of kunai that were lodged into the trees to hold them taut.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!"

Flames surged along each of the wires before converging and erupting where Sakura stood. Before the attack could even finish, a bandaged arm ejected up from the ground and made a grab at Anko's ankle. She leapt away before it could latch.

But it only had been a clone, and the real Sakura was above her with her left heel driving downwards. The assault broke ground, causing Anko's grin to widen.

"Not bad! Ibiki teach you that?"

Sakura's fist launched towards her face. "Learned it myself!"

Anko moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade that shot out from underneath the bandages. Those damn things! She always forgot the brat had those on 24/7. She kicked Sakura towards the ground and jumped away to take refuge on a high branch.

"Really?" the woman mused. "You're a real handful, you know that? What else did you learn between now and the last time we fought?"

A strange light passed over Sakura's face before she grit her teeth and dug her feet into the loose dirt beneath her.

"Something that's probably going to hurt like a bitch."

Anko wanted to smile at the comment until she saw what was happening. No, not saw.  _ Felt _ . An abnormally large amount of chakra swirled within Sakura's small body before it expelled all at once—in waves of pure, uncontrolled chakra.

The nine year old's eyes fluttered shut just as she fell into a heap onto the ground.

::

The meetings were as boring as ever. The clan heads, the council, and the Hokage talked about village economics and relations with other villages. They also spoke of politics, budgets, promotions, rankings, and notable people within the system. 

Then they felt it.

A ripple of chakra passed through the room, strong but troubled, that made the Nara Research Facility grow silent just before inquiring murmurs fluttered around. Hiashi activated his byakugan and directed towards the source of flood of energy.

_ 'Haruno Sakura?' _

Anko was knelt down beside her, gazing at the prone figure in an awed stupor. He didn't understand why she couldn't be a normal person for once and send the child to the hospital as quickly as possible until he saw just what the interrogator was gawking at.

Sakura's forehead.

...

There was a diamond on it.

"Hyuuga-san?"

Hiashi let his doujutsu fade, refacing the group with his same stoic expression. "... Just one of the guards. She tried a new jutsu, made a mistake, and discharged her chakra instead of harnessing it."

He couldn't raise alarm, now could he?

::

**EDITED 2/3/18**


	34. Concern

Anko was panicking.

Normally, it took a lot to get her worked up like this. She had seen too many things over the the course of her life and killed just as many people along with it. Nothing ever happened to the point where she was left not knowing what to do. Then came this little brat so chock full of mystery, secrecy, and downright unexplainable bullshit that left her gaping like a goddamn fish. The girl was full of surprises. But this surprise? Fuck, this could get her in serious trouble.

She had to get Sakura out of here. No one could see and no one could have even a lingering suspicion of what was happening. Doing the first thing that came to mind, Anko yanked spare bandages out of her pack and messily wrapped them around to cover Sakura's forehead. A second passed before she whipped out a kunai as well and pressed the edge into her palm. The blood she smeared on the wrappings and in pink hair to heighten the illusion of injury.

"Mitarashi-san?" She forced a grin onto her face and spun around, Sakura's body held close to her own. "If you felt that chakra, don't worry about it. There was a little accident," she said. The shinobi glanced warily at the prone child.

"... Alright. Should I inform the others within proximity to take over these grounds while you take her to receive medical attention?" he asked. Anko nodded once, already moving towards Konoha.

"Yep. I'll try to be back in an hour or something."

She broke into a sprint after those words. She took the shortest route to her apartment rather than the hospital like she said, and carefully deposited her student on the couch. The bandage was off and her panic returned as she stared at the purple diamond.

This shouldn't have been possible. The Yin seal was revered as the pinnacle of chakra control that had only been achieved by two known people: Uzumaki Mito and Senju Tsunade. They were kunoichi that made a world-renowned name for themselves, very well being some of the most powerful shinobi who ever lived.

How the  _ fuck  _ did a nine year old manage a feat that nearly all the world failed to achieve?

Anko paced in front of the couch. She couldn't just leave it on her forehead like that. It would be too much of a mess to hide or make up an excuse to why Sakura suddenly started wearing bandanas or headbands on a day to day basis. Questions would turn to rumors that would leak to other sectors...

She let out a breath. Seal it. She had to seal the seal. The diamond was too showy, as civilians would see it, as it would also be too shocking to be revealed to the entirety of the shinobi community. Plain and simple, things would change if Sakura was discovered.

Power like hers was a rarity to come by, and people had a right to fear her since she unlocked it at such a young age. More than likely though, she'd be harnessed for that very power. Clans, especially noble ones, would no doubt fight to get her into their families to exploit her abilities as much as possible. And what of ROOT? Danzo? He'd  _ kill  _ to get someone like her in his ranks.

"Goddammit, kid. You're definitely as much trouble as you're worth."

Sakura still lay unconscious, Anko oblivious to the matching diamond on the girl's lower back.

::

"There's a problem and you need to come with me. Now."

Anko burst into Ibiki's office, shocking the interrogator. The woman never used doors. It's either she came through a crevice in the building or landed in his personal space in a puff of smoke. Her face was drawn into an unnaturally serious state; lips pinned down and eyes flashing. Ibiki stood.

"What's wrong?"

"I... can't. Not here."

Oh no. He followed her to the shinobi residential districts. He'd only been to her place a handful of times and vaguely remembered the apartment building where many of the other jounin lived. They didn't even stop to take off their sandals when they stormed into the door on the third floor.

"You're going to help me seal it," she said.

"Seal what?" Ibiki demanded. "What the hell—" 

The words died on his tongue as Sakura's unmoving body came into view. He checked her for broken bones and open wounds until his eyes trailed up to her forehead. His mouth went dry at seeing the splotch of purple.

"What did she..."

"I don't know. One second we're fighting and the next she's out cold with the damned thing on her!" She rubbed her hand over her eyes, clearly distressed. "Ibiki, do you know what the fuck happened?!"

He thought back to the times he'd seen Sakura with her nose stuck in that raggedy old journal. She said it once belonged to Uzumaki Mito, and that it detailed her life and the struggles she met at the founding of Konoha. 

Mito. The only explanation.

"She read it in a journal given to her by Hokage-sama some years ago.”

Anko's curses resonated through the apartment as she opened every cabinet and drawer to take out what she needed for the sealing process. Ink, chakra paper, brushes, blood... Too far in their frenzy to hide Sakura's new secret, they failed to notice the brown cat lazily stretched out on the window sill.

::

Gai and Obito stood at attention in the Hokage's office, waiting for Dan to finish reading through their request. He set down the paper a few minutes later.

"You two must really care for Hatake-san to worry about his work in ANBU and bring it to my attention," he said. He laced his fingers together, "But what do you think he'll gain if he becomes a genin sensei?"

"It will help him get better sir. After the... incident, he's been throwing himself into his work. If he has some students to look after, well, maybe he'll start to live again," Obito answered. Dan nodded thoughtfully before turning his head to the other.

"And you, Maito-san?"

There was a brilliant flash of pearly white teeth. "All we wish is for my eternal rival's fire to return to his youthful self! He still needs the light in his eyes, Hokage-sama!"

The Godaime looked down at the files littered across his desk. Academy graduation was just around the corner and he was in the process of assigning each student to a jounin. All of them had been appointed, actually, save for the special cases.

He lifted the folders of the three early graduates. "This year's class has already be signed off to their respective sensei."

"But—"

Dan held up a hand, effectively making Obito's mouth shut. "Though there are unassigned students. Three, to be exact, and will be in need of a capable sensei. They're ahead of their peers by two years and can cause quite the trouble when they're together, but I'm sure Hatake-san can handle them," he informed. Dan extended the folders for the two jounin who both read the files with wide eyes.

Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuuriki. 

Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother. 

And Haruno Sakura, the...

Gai's eyebrows furrowed at the name and picture of the far too serious girl with an obnoxiously bright head of pink hair. He'd never heard the name before, and if he did, he definitely wouldn't forget that ridiculous hair. He glanced at his friend to see if he had recognized her, his eyes widening when he saw the uncharacteristic tightness that washed over the Uchiha's features.

"Is it okay? For her to be under Kakashi?" Obito questioned. His gaze never left her picture. Dan tilted his head curiously.

"What makes you think otherwise?"

Because she was traumatized just as much if not worse than his best friend. He remembered the raw fear and piercing shrieks when she had that panic attack—shouting at him, crying, whispering why she could still  _ feel  _ whoever dared to touch her. Kakashi was someone who couldn't handle his own emotions now, so what would he do if Sakura went through something like that again?

But his reasoning didn't make it up his throat, a shake of his head replacing it instead.

"It's nothing. Forget I said anything."

Shizune, who had been standing to her uncle's right ever since the discussion of Kakashi's future began, turned. "Should I send for Hatake-san?" 

Dan smiled. "Yes, thank you, Shizune."

::

"Tell me, Hatake-san, how long have you been in ANBU?" 

The wind was a calm one, blowing through the strands of their hairs and giving slight comfort from the warming sun. The one in question knelt down on the roof of the Hokage Tower with his mask still on and attention fully focused on his leader.

"I joined in Yondaime-sama's time, so about twelve years now," Kakashi monotonously replied. Dan turned as a bittersweet smile touched his lips.

"I recall Minato-san's tenure. I'd met him personally a few times, but I was mostly off on my own business outside Konoha, as you may have already known," he said. "He mentioned you some of those times. There's a certain... sadness in your heart that he wanted to heal you from, and he thought that keeping you close by putting you in ANBU would help."

Kakashi ducked his head. "I figured he did something like that."

"But then there was his unfortunate passing and Sarutobi-sama took over once more," Dan continued. "He stayed in power until I came back from my journeys and then I became Hokage. The same ANBU under Minato-san moved to Sarutobi-sama, then to me. But I'm afraid that you being at my side will only make that sadness worse, and according to your friends, it already has."

The ANBU member couldn't help but tense up in slight annoyance. Those friends were more than likely to be either Gai or Obito, or worse: the both of them. They were always the ones who hovered over him and tried to get him back in his spirits again despite his attempts to withdraw as much as he could.

"Take off your mask, please."

Kakashi did so without hesitation. Dan stepped closer to him, a frown slowly growing at the sight of two empty abysses for eyes.

"Twelve long years... I've read over the missions you've completed in that time. Many of them are things far from being proud of."

He extended his hand to take Kakashi's mask and carelessly discarded it behind him.

"You are hereby relieved from your ANBU duties and will be taking up a new position, effective immediately," he declared. Kakashi bowed his head again.

"Yes, sir!"

"And you will meet your new genin team in two day's time," Dan grinned. Hatake immediately froze. Him. In charge of a group of kids. No, no, he couldn't take up a responsibility like that. He was someone who couldn't be trusted to look after kids, he knew that much. He was one of ANBU's best—a trained killer whose blood stained his hands no matter how many times he tried to wash it off. And the Godaime should know that of him by now. 

So he mustered up himself and gave the most intelligible answer he could think of:

" _ Huh? _ "

::

Hiashi tapped his fingers against his tea cup as he watched Hinata teach her younger sister a new gentle fist move. Though he watched them intently with every cause to look for mistakes or miscalculations in their stances, his mind was off somewhere else.

_ "Hyuuga-san?" _

_ Hiashi let his doujutsu fade, refacing the group with his same stoic expression. _

_ "... Just one of the guards. She tried a new jutsu, made a mistake, and discharged her chakra instead of harnessing it." _

He didn't know why he lied. Sure, a part of him had done it to make sure he didn't cause a stir within the meeting, but another part of him wanted to keep it a secret and out of reach from all the other clan heads and council members. The girl had the Yin seal and it would be in any reasonable person's right mind to want to have that power flourish under a clan's watch.

If not by blood, then by marriage. Why not? Hinata was already enamored enough with the girl as it was.

That aside, he thought back to the impossibility the Haruno seemed to achieve. There wasn't a single drop of shinobi blood in her lineage, nor was there documentation he could access to tell more about just what she was capable of.

If she had the gall to stick her chin out at him, knowing fully well of the consequences, then she was something else all together. He would have to keep a closer eye on her from now on, especially since she was already an important person to his heir.

So Hiashi would bide his time- slowly, carefully, subtly. He would unravel the mystery that was Haruno Sakura and find out just what drove her to cultivate such a technique. 

She was a child. 

Expelling chakra like that had over a fifty percent chance of killing her where she stood.

::

**EDITED 2/3/18**


	35. Impression

Naruto couldn't stop bouncing in his seat. He couldn't. After all the hard work he did studying past midnight everyday and practicing his upper class-men material, he was finally going to graduate! Two years ahead of his friends too! He glanced to his right at Sasuke, then to his left at Sakura before grinning.

This was going to be the start of it all. At last, they were going to be the shinobi they'd always dreamed of.

Sasuke felt a proud bubble swell in his chest. He might not be as advanced as his aniki was, but he was doing much better than many of his other clan members. His father and mother certainly had been proud when he ran home a few months ago saying that he'd graduate early with the two people he cared about the most (though he'd never readily admit it). There was nothing that could make him happier.

Though it couldn't be said that their optimism was shared. Sakura was detailing a poison's antidote as her boys eagerly awaited the arrived of their new sensei, her free hand holding her right bicep. A few months ago, she was careless. She was sure she could reveal the Yin seal and have her trump card just as she had before, but there were things she sorely misjudged like the fact that she was creating two seals instead of one, or that she was no longer in an adult's body thus unable to take the same amount of strain.

The seals had exhausted her body to the point of sending her into unconsciousness for two whole days. When she woke up, she was in an unfamiliar apartment with two faces glowering down at her.

_Sakura blinked awake, squinting at the shadows glaring down at her in the candle-lit darkness. First she saw Anko with a scowl on her lips and a tired look in her eyes._

_"You've got a shit ton of explaining to do, kid."_

_Did she?_

_"First, you're gonna tell us why in your right mind you'd attempt that freaking mother of all chakra control—"_

_Ah. That._

_"—and second, you're gonna tell us how the hell you were able to do it," she finished. Sakura pushed herself into a sitting position and winced when she became aware of the burning sensation curling around her right arm. Her head tilted downwards and she saw a design encasing the entirety of her bicep. They were like... dark veins; tendrils winding down to the crook of her elbow. Not jagged or curved, rather a bit reminiscent of neurons._

_"Did you... seal my Yin seal?" she questioned incredulously. Ibiki stepped into her line of sight with that same frown and tired look._

_"Unfortunately, no. Something like that can't be sealed," he said. "The next best thing we could do was mask it. Now_ talk _."_

_Sakura sighed, then proceeded to feed them her lie._

Her entire right arm was wrapped to cover both her blade and the unaccounted for seal, but she had to admit that it was better than to try explaining why she suddenly decided to cover her forehead when she, on multiple occasions, said how much she liked it despite it being a smidge too large. So her new hitai-ate sat as a headband just like in her older days.

Just thinking about it made the grip on her arm grow tighter.

"Ne, ne, who do you think our sensei's gonna be?" Naruto asked. "I saw jiji yesterday and he said he knew but wouldn’t tell me! You think they're super cool?"

Sasuke grunted. "They'll be good, whoever it is. Aren't they all?"

Sakura folded her paper and tucked it into her pocket. "We'll be the judges of that," she added. By now, it was common knowledge that she didn't care too much for status if she wanted to get her point across. Her very first Academy sensei had been a prime example and perfect display of it.

She moved her stare to the clock mounted above the door. Their sensei was supposed to meet them two o'clock sharp and there were sixteen minutes left until his expected arrival. But the exact moment the hand struck 1:45 pm, the door snapped open to reveal Kakashi in his standard jounin attire.

"You're early, 'ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed before he could stop himself. The man didn't even spare him a look as he walked to the center of the room.

"When you're on time, you're late. When you're early, you're on time. Consider that my first lesson to you," he said. Sakura crossed her arms over her midsection and leaned back against the other desk. Oh, he was going to be one of those, was he?

With one swift motion, he turned to face them with feet positioned to be perfectly aligned to the tip of his shoulders and hands clasped behind his back.  "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I will be the one to train you until your ascension to chuunin level and I expect you three to listen to what I say. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto and Sasuke both chorused. Kakashi looked at the sole student who refused an answer.

" _Am I clear_?" he repeated, piercing black eyes boring into her. Sakura smiled.

"Yes. You are."

His gaze lingered on her a bit longer before he looked to regard them collectively.

"You each will introduce yourself. I've refused to read over any of your records to eliminate any possible bias towards you three. I don't even know your names," he began. Sakura didn't even blink. This was _very_ new. "So what I will rely on are your first impressions. Say your likes, dislikes, goals—things of the sort. Don't make a mistake of yourselves. You. Start us off."

Sasuke sat up, a determined light in his expression befitting of an Uchiha. He was a boy nearly ten years old who sought not only to make his parents proud, but to become a shinobi even Itachi would be more than proud of. This was going to be his first step into that reality.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like training, tomatoes, and sitting by the lake in the morning. I don't like miso ramen—"

There was a betrayed gasp from Naruto.

"—but still, Naruto's one of my best friends. Even if he's a dobe most of the time. My other best friend is Sakura and she's cool because she's nice and invincible. And when I'm older, I want to be a shinobi just like my aniki."

Sakura swore Kakashi let a flicker of surprise show before he moved on to the next student. "Next."

Naruto sent Sasuke a scathing glare before grinning brilliantly.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like _all_ ramen 'cause _I'm_ not a hater," he enunciated loudly, making sure Sasuke got an earful of it, "I also like Sakura-chan, Iruka-sensei, and sometimes Sasuke. My best friends are Sasuke and Sakura-chan too! There's also Chouji, Shika, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Ino... anyway, I don't like bullies! And when I'm older, I..."

The blond fell into a thoughtful silence. Ever since meeting Sakura and Sasuke, he never really considered the future anymore. It was never the 'when I'm stronger, they'll see' like back then. Now, all he cared about was Iruka and all the friends he never imagined having.

He wanted to be Hokage because he wanted to be accepted. To be loved.

But he already had all of that.

"... I want to be a am-bass-a-door. To make peace," he smiled. Kakashi noticed the way Sakura's eyes widened as she fought the urge to whip her head to her right. A reaction he didn't quite expect from her, seeing that he was starting to expect some trouble with the unconventional vibes she was sending out. He looked at her fully.

"And you."

Sakura relaxed in her seat after a few moments as the corner of her mouth quirked up. "Me? My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are- well, I have many likes. I have lots of dislikes, too. So many dislikes that I just can't name them all."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Naruto giggled. Sasuke pursed his lips to keep from grinning.

"These two knuckleheads are my best friends too. And what do I want to be when I'm older? Huh," she drawled. She feigned musing for a couple of seconds before beaming uncaringly. "We'll get there when we get there. Why rush?"

::

That girl was definitely making fun of him. Not only were her answers completely and utterly useless for his future analysis, but she respected him in a way that was almost like a direct attack in undermining his authority. Not that it was hostile. Merely teasing and unorthodox for a young graduate like herself.

But that wasn't what particularly nagged him. Kakashi remembered her from a few years back at the Godaime's inauguration. _She_ was the no name who sensed his presence that day, and _she_ was the kid that might be the most problematic of the three. It was true that he refused to take even a peek at any of their files. He wanted to find their faults through trial and error. But with her on the team, he felt a twinge of regret at making the decision.

He'd stick with it, though, and not read their records unless absolutely necessary. Kakashi glanced out the window. It would still be light out for about four more hours—more than enough time to figure if he'd take them off or send them back to the Academy.

"We'll head out to Training Ground Six so I can determine whether or not you will continue as genin. No questions, no comments. Move out," he ordered. Sasuke and Naruto jumped out their seats and hurried to the grounds while bickering their way out the door in hushed tones. Sakura followed at a much leisurely pace.

"What about you? Anything you'd like us to know about you?"

He raised his chin. "There is nothing you need to know about me," he said. She shrugged, a cat-like grin appearing on her face before she disappeared into the hallway.

Kakashi unconsciously reached into his pocket and took hold of the two silver bells that made temporary residence there the past few days. He already failed his old team twice. He wasn't about to fail a third time by passing a team that possibly wasn't worth his salt.

But he'd have to see for himself if Dan's utter faith in them was worthwhile.

::

"You're shitting me. I'm-A-Lone-Wolf-So-I-Don't-Need-No-Goddamn-Friends is her sensei?" Anko snorted. "That's as bad as slotting me in a babysitting job. And that's saying something."

Genma held up his hands in defense.

"Godaime's call, not mine. But as the rumor goes, he was taken off duty just for the assignment. As bad as it looks, maybe it'll be alright."

"Alright? Kakashi's messed up. Sakura's messed up. You put those two together and you're gonna get fucked up. Even more so with her having that thing to deal with. How long until you think he notices?" she groaned. She plopped down on the couch in Ibiki's office. Things had been slow down at T&I and there wasn't much to do but fill out paperwork or laze around. She preferred the latter.

"Thing? You mean the..." Genma trailed off as he gestured vaguely to his forehead. Anko rolled her eyes then sneered.

"No, the fucking wings she grew!"

"Okay, damn. The thing. Got it," he sighed. Once he returned from his mission, he was plucked from the streets by Anko and Ibiki and was hastily informed about the new problem that arose. Sakura, of course, was smack in the center of it. Of course she was. He wasn't complaining, it was because of her that the sector started to get interesting. "But I dunno. Maybe it's good that they're together. It could... help both of them."

She scoffed. "By what? Having them at each other's throats? Sakura won't take shit from no one and Kakashi's got a pole up his ass. I think you know exactly where that road's headed."

Genma took a granola bar from his pouch and slipped the senbon from his mouth to take a bite. With Sakura's track record, it was stupid to think no other incidents would make themselves known. So for now he’d hope and see just how bad it would blow up in their faces.

::

_Could you could get me a double kodachi? The finest made one you can find, preferably. I'm thinking of giving it to Iwa and teaching him a few lessons in swordsmanship for a change. He_ has _been interested no matter how much he tries to deny it._

_Also, the poison. I hope you have it decoded by now._

_Oh, and congrats on graduating. Finally a big kid now?_

**~Marionette**

Sakura quickly shoved the note in her packet as Yori took refuge in her kunai pouch and Kakashi entered the clearing. Deidara and swords? She supposed it wasn't a bad idea. He had always been a long to mid-range fighter and dabbling in swordsmanship could only benefit him in the long run.

The three recent graduates stood in a line, two of them waiting nervously for the next set of instructions. Kakashi was silent as he paced back and forth before them. It didn't seem like he was thinking of any particular thing, perhaps testing their patience. Not that he needed to, though. Her boys were more than intimidated out of their wits to speak out of turn.

"There will only be one assessment to resolve the question of whether or not you will study under my jurisdiction," he finally announced, stopping his movement. He held up a pair of shimmering silver bells. "You all will fight to take these from me and will have until sundown to do so. Whoever gets a bell passes."

"Uh... Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked at Naruto.

"There's two bells, but there's three of us," the boy mentioned with a wrinkled brow. Sakura watched for a few seconds as realization dawned on their faces. Sasuke was the first. His pale expression went from confusion, fear, then subsequently: anger.

"I won't do it," he said. He didn't flinch when the man's gaze intensified. Kakashi leaned forward, soulless eyes crackling with lightning.

"Excuse me?"

The tone was soft, held up by a promise of a threat. Sasuke swallowed and stepped up. "Naruto and Sakura are my best friends. Today, we became a team. I would never take a test where only two of us pass. It's not right."

Kakashi twirled the bells around his finger, a mocking light taking form at the edges of his calculating stare. Itachi's younger brother wasn't what he normally saw in a typical Uchiha brat. It was hard to find a member who actively cared for those outside the clan.

"Do you really think the world is nice enough to actually be concerned? They'll pick off your teammates one by one until no one's left. You should get used to leaving them behind," he drawled. An inhuman growl escaped Naruto's lungs as his whiskered cheeks reddened in rage, all trails of fear left to crumble to dust.

"What?! Bullshit! They're my team and I won't let you take them away from me, dattebayo! So you can go shove it up your ass if you think we're gonna—"

Sakura covered his mouth with her hand and reduced him to muffled cries of indignation. She smiled up at the older man. There wasn't a hint of apology to be shown. "What he's trying to say is that we're not taking your test. It's either we pass together or we fail together, and we're sticking by it if that's alright with you," she chirped. She looked so happy at their blatant stance against his course of action that for a moment...

Kakashi silently sucked in a sharp breath.

For a moment, he saw Rin. He saw her brown eyes in Sakura's green ones, brimming with untold knowledge and determination. He saw her smile in Sakura's teasing one, making him witness that insurmountable spirit.

He saw Rin's soul—the one he forcibly ripped from her, just as jagged and broken as the one whose arms were now wrapped protectively around Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders.

Kakashi blinked.

Just then... what had...?

He mentally shook away the memory. It probably was just a spur of the moment kind of deal; he'd been having instances like that ever since he was removed from his ANBU duty a little over a week ago. He was positive that it was just the withdrawal from his normally tedious workings of his old job catching up to him.

He coolly regarded the mismatched bunch of children, quite tiny children who were far from reaching the tops of his shoulders, who cast the most tenacious looks they could muster. A whisper of hope wrapped around his heart as he observed them.

"Are you sure this is the path you want to take? There will be times when your teammates will drag you back or let you down. Are you prepared for something like that? What if your commander orders you otherwise?"

Naruto hissed at him. "People who abandon their friends are worse than scum!"

People who...

Kakashi turned his head to examine the distant horizon and not at all to hide the ghost of a smile that tried to push past his well-constructed mask of stoicism.

"Odd," he commented. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What is?"

"It seems like you passed the test. I'm thinking of rewriting it since there's _obviously_ too many holes if three early graduates managed."

Five seconds passed without any movement. The next fifteen seconds were filled with Naruto's babbling about if this was some other trick Bastard-sensei was trying to pull on them. The following thirty seconds after were taken by his cheers and Sasuke's giddiness about telling the rest of his family about what they did today.

"We're done for the day," Kakashi continued. "Report back to this training ground at six o'clock. Anyone late will receive punishment. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!"

Naruto and Sasuke scrambled to hurry and tell the good news to their respective homes. Sakura called out to them, saying that she'd catch up in a minute, and lagged behind to meet the stone cold attention of her "new" teacher. He crossed his arms.

"Something you needed, Sakura?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Nothing. Just wanted to wish you good luck on your new genin team. It's your first year, isn't it? That's always the hardest," she said. Kakashi can't help but silently grit his teeth. What was that supposed to mean? "No pressure or anything. It's okay to feel embarrassed if you mess up every now and then. It's natural."

"What are you implying?"

"Me? Imply something? I wouldn't _dream_ of it, Kakashi. Like I said, I'm just wishing you good luck for your new time. Kami knows you'll be needing it," she grinned. He doesn't know what to be annoyed about first: the fact that she openly making fun of him or using his first name like she'd known him for years. And like hell he'd let some smart-ass brat use his name so familiarly like that.

"You will address me as Kakashi-sensei, Sakura."

Her grin grew wider as she turned and raised a hand in goodbye. "I'll see you at training tomorrow, Kakashi!"

...

Now he honestly regretted swearing to not look at her file.

::

"I take it that the test took a different turn than your expectations."

"We were on the brink of failure last time," Sakura murmured, nodding at the scorpion perched on her shoulder. "Plus, Kakashi was way happier back then and nowhere near the level of asshole he's at now. Here, let me write Sasori-san's reply and you can take it to him."

She fished a pen and a slip of notepad paper from her pouch. She then sat on a bench lined on one of the busier streets, waiting for Sai to meet up with her like they always did on Tuesdays.

_You're hilarious. Ha._

_It'll take some time to find the kodachi you want. I'll have to go to lots of shops to see what they have, or maybe I'll have my regular place and order for it to be specially made. Your poison's also been deciphered, no problem. I'll attach my analysis to the note._

The best sword makers were undoubtedly in Mizu no Kuni, as the Kirigakure lay there and held the Seven Legendary Swordsman. It would be at least three weeks for everything to be in order.

_Today, we had our test to assure our genin status. My sensei is the same, but he's strikingly different from before. Both his eyes are accounted for and the death of the Yondaime and his other teammate still runs deep, which reminds me of something important._

_We had introductions with likes, dislikes, and all things of the sort. Naruto no longer wants to become Hokage. He wants to be an ambassador instead._

_If he doesn't want to take up the position, I fear someone else needs to unless we want a rampant dictator on our hands. The Godaime won't be leading twenty years from now so we need to pick and cultivate a candidate as soon as possible._

"I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?" she mumbled. Yori gave a thoughtful hum.

"I'm not too current with Konoha's politics, but I am aware that there's a strong clan system. Whoever you and Sasori choose needs to appease them all," he said. Sakura rubbed her neck and sighed. Of course her preferred choice of Rokudaime had to pass the structure of clans and council members. In the old timeline, Naruto was more than capable of taking the spot of Hokage once the war was over and Tsunade decided to retire.

He... would've been a great Hokage. Granted, she hadn't exactly lived to see it come to fruition, though it was something she was sure had happened. He and Sasuke would've both been happy in a world no longer ravaged by war.

But that was all behind her. She wanted a bloodless future for this timeline. The only problem was to pick the perfect person to continue Kato Dan's peaceful reign.

_A politically suitable one too. Dan was able to get by with his good reputation and tranquil demeanor along with lots of other personality points that has him on the good side of the general public. We need someone like him, but with a stronger intimidation factor. Dan's not exactly putting pressure on any other Hidden Village._

Sakura looked up and saw Sasuke across the way. His mother stood to his left and his brother was at his right, him probably talking about how he passed the test just half an hour ago. She muted her chakra to make it less obvious that she was there as she bit the end of her pen. Successor to the Godaime, successor to the Godaime...

Would a quiet, insightful person fit well with something like that?

_I don't_ , she began to write, then stopped herself. The idea was crazy and there was hardly a backing she could gather to make the notion work, at least not now. It's not like she presently had anything against the man in this particular timeline. If he was as hardworking and honest as she heard, there was nothing stopping him from earning a future nomination.

_Scratch that. I think we have our guy._

Itachi turned his head to meet her inquisitive gaze, tilting his head in greeting. She smiled in return and went back to writing.

_Uchiha Itachi: Rokudaime Hokage. Has a nice ring, doesn't it?_

**~H.S.**


	36. Omake III: The Flower That Wasn't Pink

"Ko-Konoha?! Baa-chan, who's going to... to help you with the inn? Or the laundry, or to cook, or to help you cl-clean the house—"

"Hush, Sachiko-chan. I'll be alright."

"But Konoha—!"

"Is your mother's home, and naturally, yours as well," Yuka said. "I'm old, but not an old fool, dear. You've read your mother's letter to you a million times now and likely to do so a million times more. You want to know who she was, don't you?"

Sachiko grasped the hem of her shirt and looked at her feet. She did want to know more about her mother. The mountains of paper she read over and over again told of a beautiful village where the sun never ceased to shine and the trees gleamed a spring green. She also remembered the people, both of those who perished in the war and those who probably still lived on to this day.

Did she want to know more? 

Yes. That's all she ever wanted.

"Am... I going with Yamato-san and Hatake-san?" Sachiko asked. Yuka patted the girl's hair and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I promise that they'll take good care of you. Your mother's sensei and team leader, you said? They won't be anything but good to you."

The fourteen year old nodded mutely as she leaned on her grandmother's shoulder. Tomorrow, she would leave with those two strangers that her mother had written so fondly of, especially the silver haired one. Sachiko could still recall how sad and guilt-ridden he looked when he apologized to her.

_ "I couldn't stop her." _

What had her mother done?

::

They left at first light, heading East instead of South. Sachiko knew her geography well enough to know that they weren't headed towards Konoha. She kept her mouth shut, though, and listened to the quiet words spoken between the two adults.

"Nanadaime-sama will have our heads when we get back."

"Naruto'll understand. What we really have to worry about is when he and Sasuke find out about Sakura. You know how they get."

She flinched at the mention of those names. There was rarely a passage either of them weren't at least alluded to. They were the people whom her mother believed in time and time again. She wrote about them like they were heroes—Naruto more so than others.

Heroes.

Then why didn't they save her mother if she loved them so much?

Sachiko noticed Kakashi's and Yamato's slowed steps as they came to a riverside. Two enormous statues stood at either edge of a connecting waterfall, a state of disrepair evident in their cracks and crumbling foundations.

"This is the Valley of the End, Sachiko-san," Yamato informed, his voice the barest of murmurs. "The... last place Sakura was seen. Alive."

Kakashi had ghosted away from the group at some point and walked to the center of the lake. Both his eyes were visible and downcast as he imbibed his surroundings with regret laced in his empty stare. At Sachiko's questioning glance, Yamato sighed and motioned her to sit on a rock beside him.

"You've heard of the Fourth Shinobi World War, right?"

She nodded. She read about it in the few shinobi history books in the town library.

"Well, this incident happened a little bit after when everyone was celebrating, so we’ll never know what truly happened save for the four who were actually there. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi-senpai, and Sakura. It..." He took a deep breath. "No one knows all the details except them, but I can give you a brief overview," he said. "Naruto and Sasuke fought for hours with years of pent up emotion. Kakashi-senpai watched from the sidelines. Thirty-four hours in, Sakura came. I heard she was different from what senpai saw of her because neither of us had seen her three years prior. She stood next to him and spectated her old teammates' battle to the death. But with Sakura being Sakura, she wouldn't let that pass."

Yamato had a wistful look in his eyes. "I'd known her since she was a teenager, you know? She was a talented medic, determined, and had the scariest temper. If Naruto and Sai hadn’t riled her up all the time, they wouldn't have had to be the receiving end of it."

_ When I was fifteen, Sai became a part of the team along with Yamato-taichou. He was pale with eyes and hair the color of the darkest in—the same ink he utilized for his jutsu. Sai was rude and outright disrespectful when I first met him. He even gave me the nickname 'Ugly'! _

_ I punched him plenty of times for his troubles. _

_ It was probably more endearing than Naruto's, but Sai had good intentions. His emotions were compromised when he was younger, so there's no blaming him. He was a good man. _

_ If you go to Konoha, could you do me a favor? Visit his grave, give him momen tofu, and tell him that I would've loved to see his book. _

Sachiko refrained from reaching into the box inside her bag and kept listening.

"But she was someone who fought for what she thought was right. She wanted Naruto to be Hokage and Sasuke to come back home. So as those two scraped together the last of their chakra and charged at each other for the killing blow, Sakura... She jumped."

_ I didn't want to leave you, Sachiko. I want to be with you more than anything, but I also had to think of all the wrongs I committed in the past. I want you to be the happiest you could be, but If I was there, that wouldn't have been the case. _

_ I remember what Obito told me. _

_ He'd make sure to drive me insane. It won't matter if he loses the war, nor when the Allies execute him. In the future, I'd be desperate for freedom from my memories. From my failures. From him. He wouldn't kill me then. Because he knew for a fact that in the midst of smiles and celebration with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, or whoever else that hadn't already died, he'd be able to see my face again when I do the honors myself. _

_ I'm sorry. _

_ I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. _

_ I love you more than I ever loved myself, but even now, I still can't prove him wrong. _

She didn't doubt that her mother loved her. War was hard on anyone, and with what her mother went through, she understood how she fell into suicide's unforgiving grasp. Yamato talked about it like she did it purely for Naruto and Sasuke's sake, though Sachiko knew that wasn't true.

Her mother  _ wanted  _ to die.

And all he was telling her was that she did it out of  _ love _ .

A sliver of a powerful emotion she didn't immediately recognize curled around her spine and dug its nails into her throat. She ducked her head down once she realized that rage was the perpetrator. Rage at... Yamato? No, no it couldn't be that. She just met him and she had no right to be upset with him, so she squashed the anger and looked up at him.

"So what, um, did they do? H-Her injuries, I mean."

"Naruto had a sphere of chakra in a hand, and Sasuke had a concentration of lightning in his," came Kakashi's voice. He walked off the river and onto the bank. "One shot of either, and the one who was hit would be dead." There was a cloud of remorse and disgrace that he carried on his shoulders. "Naruto's hand went through her stomach. Sasuke's hand went through her heart. And me? I was on the sidelines, paralyzed and unable to do anything because I let my guard down and she got me. I could've stopped her," he mumbled bitterly. "I could've stopped her, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."

She said nothing, nodding meekly and keeping her eyes on her hands. For the slightest moment, red spiked the edge of her vision. Why was he apologizing to her?  _ She  _ didn't need to hear those words over and over again from him. Her mother deserved the apology. Not her.

"... I-It's okay."

Was it?

Kakashi bowed his head. "Sakura was a hero," he said. Sachiko stared at him with those all too bright eyes that were the exact same shade and likeness as the mother she never got to know. 

Hero. There was that word again.

She trailed just a bit behind the two as they made their journey to Konoha, mouthing the word multiple times to digest it, but it never did. Every time she did it, its remnants left an undesired feeling on her tongue. Saying it wasn't right. Just as Yuka mentioned, she read that letter more times than she cared to remember.

Every line was carved into her heart and every tear stain burned into her soul. She could recite her mother's only words to her if she wanted to forwards, backwards, side to side. Even though she didn't know Haruno Sakura, she  _ knew  _ who she was. What she did. What she felt. Why she wanted so vehemently to die.

Her mother was not a hero.

She was a person. A person, scared with no one to help her, whose demons were too strong for her to keep living.

::

The gates were tall, imposing, and unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Past them was the famed Hokage Monument sculpted with seven grand faces. Behind them were more buildings that touched the sky-- behemoths compared to the older districts that she now assumed was downtown. A brown-haired lady came to meet them at the gates with two braided buns and red tassel earrings.

"Kakashi-senpai! Yamato-senpai! The Nanadaime's been waiting for you!" she smiled. Sachiko's eyes flickered over in recognition.

_ Then we get to the last member of Team Gai: Tenten. She's not the best with ninjutsu or genjutsu, but give her any weapon you can think of and she'll beat you to the ground. Tenten's the best weapons-master you'll meet in your life, well, if you ever get the chance. I regret not getting to know her better, and I promised myself I would have if I made it out of the war. _

_ I imagine it's hard for her now. Lee and Neji? They're both gone now. Like I mentioned early, Lee went down fighting in the sixth year and Neji had gone in that infirmary camp bombing in the second year. She has Gai-sensei, at least. I bet he's still going on and on about youth. _

_ Tenten... I don't know what to say to her. If you ever get the chance, tell her that I wish I was there for her. _

Tenten peered down at the girl and tilted her head. Her rich chocolate gaze narrowed a bit as some nagging thought nudged the back of her head. "Have we met before?"

Sachiko quickly shook her head. "N-No, I-I'm, uh, I'm sorry Ten-miss! Sorry, miss, we haven't met!" the girl exclaimed. Her face flushed pink as she stepped to hide partially behind Kakashi, who had chuckled good-naturedly at the woman's amused expression.

"I'll explain the situation to you once we finish confirming something," he promised. "Tenzou, talk to Naruto, would you? I'll take Sachiko-san to the hospital to get that blood work done."

Yamato nodded once and shunshinned away as Kakashi bid Tenten goodbye and led Sachiko to the hospital. The lone member of Team Nine watched their departure curiously, albeit suspiciously. The girl had known her name, obviously, and was strikingly familiar.

Familiar as in  _ twelve years ago _ familiar.

::

At the hospital, they were met with a woman older than Tenten. Her hair was black and her face was kinder than most. Sachiko couldn't hear the short conversation they had, but when the woman's brow pulled together and the vial of blood was suddenly placed into her hand, she frowned.

"You want me to compare this sample with the young lady's? Why?"

"I'd rather not say until we know for sure. It's urgent, Shizune-san. I think it would be best to do this maternity test as quickly as possible."

Shizune.

_ Shizune-senpai was Tsunade-shishou's first apprentice, someone who followed even after the decision of leaving Konoha. She was the one who helped me learn medical ninjutsu when shishou was too busy with her Kage duties. _

_ She was also one of the main figures in the war. I was the one who called most of the shots, but... she's a dear friend of mine. Someone I could've said goodbye to, but was so ashamed to show my face before I went to see you for the last time. I left her a short note and that was far from fair. She deserved more from me. _

_ Tell her I miss her. And tell her that if she keeps stressing herself, she really will get wrinkles before gray hairs. _

Shizune warily eyed the preservation seal on the vial, noting that no ordinary shinobi could have made it and started off down the hallway, motioning for the other two to follow. Sachiko scurried ahead and clasped her hands together when the woman spared her a glance and a small smile.

"I don't think I got your name, sweetheart."

The girl scratched the side of her neck—a nervous tick of hers for as long as she could remember. "Sachiko, miss."

Sachiko; a polite girl with a quiet voice and eyes the color of a painful memory. It wasn't very long until her blood was drawn and the three of them stood in an unoccupied lab to run the DNA analysis. Shizune, monitoring the machines, inclined her head towards the man.

"Kakashi-san, what's this about?" she asked.

"Yes, but it has nothing to do with me if that's what you're implying. It's... someone we knew and I have to be positive before explaining anything."

The machine ran for a few minutes before a green  **M A T C H** lit up on the wide screen it was attached to. Kakashi's heart actually dropped to rattle against his stomach. So it was true. Sakura died not only to leave behind the people she loved, but the legacy no one knew of as well.

As Shizune went to remove the blood samples, the machine started up again and ran comparisons between the other DNA records in the system. The recognition feature activated on the first sample- the one with the preservation seal- and searched the database for who it belonged to.

Shizune let the next few minutes pass in silence, her confusion weighing heavily in the air, then watched as a picture popped on the screen.

Her limbs grew numb.

**BLOOD VERIFIED**

**99% MATCH: HARUNO SAKURA**

::

Clarification: The first sample (which was Sakura's) was recognized in the system and gave the 99% match after verifying Sachiko was her daughter.

::

_To be continued in Omake IV: Hero_


	37. Worry

_That's it. You've officially lost it. Next chance I get, I'm going to Konoha and personally checking you for any abnormal brain activity or some mental illness your shrink hasn't found out about yet._

_Expect me within the week, crazy._

**~Marionette**

What a hypocrite he was, calling her crazy when all his marbles weren't exactly in the jar themselves. She sighed a bit at the mention of her shrink, as she was about to walk into her appointment when she got the message. She didn't know why Ibiki kept insisting on her meeting with Inoichi every week. over a year of sessions had given her not even the slightest help with her problem.

They believed her story about the man in the civilian village and did their own investigating some time ago. Sasori had done a quick job of finding her "predator" and implementing fake memories in the small, unsuspecting population that lived there.

The investigators found no reason to believe anything other than her story, so her account went by without another question. Since then, she'd been treated for PTSD due to that incident and the death of her parents. Ibiki forbid her from receiving any medical prescriptions, understandably, which left her with four other options they tried: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Therapy, Group Therapy, and brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.

"Good afternoon, Sakura," Inoichi greeted. "Go on and have a seat, then we'll get started." He pulled out his clipboard and her file, flipping to the back towards her session notes. "I heard you passed your genin test a couple of days ago. Good job. Why don't you tell me about it?"

EMDR had Sakura focus on other stimuli as Inoichi got her to talk about the bare minimum of her trauma, but it only led to her reliving some of the memories by having the stimuli somehow connect to what she was trying to forget. It was still a process in the works, so it was no surprise that it didn't work.

"There's not much to say. Naruto and Sasuke are my teammates like I thought and they were really excited when we met our sensei for the first time. He's Hatake Kakashi and Anko-san keeps telling me that he needs friends. And frankly, I agree."

Inoichi's lips quirked up.

"I asked about him. Rumors say he was taken out of ANBU just to teach us," she continued. "Apparently, the reasons aren't clear why, but I have my own assumptions. He trains as hard as I expected and Sasuke and Naruto are having a hard time keeping up. I mean, it's only our second day training so I'll wait a little longer before making suggestions."

Next they tried Cognitive Therapy. He tried to get the girl to open up and talk about how she felt about the trauma and its aftermath, but her vague descriptions and unwillingness to delve into detail hardly left him much to work with. He wanted to help her cope with her anger, fear, and guilt, but anytime he mentioned them, it only seemed to take root even deeper.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I doubt he'd take counsel from his student."

She huffed. "Kakashi _will_ take it if he knows what's good for him."

"Kakashi? He lets you call him that?" he chuckled. "I met him a few times myself, and I don't think he appreciates that."

Following that attempt, they leapt into Group Therapy. She was the youngest in those meetings with five other PTSD sufferers and kept a tight lip whenever she was asked to speak up. She told him once that she wasn't grateful for the pitying glances the other attendees sent her. Just because she was young didn't mean she needed them to feel sorry for her. After two sessions, Inoichi pulled her out of the group and tried something else.

"He doesn't. Come on, Yamanaka-san. Keep up. I disrespect with a purpose... except for this one, which I did because it’s fun."

Inoichi shook his head in amusement as he wrote a few things down. Fifteen minutes had gone by with small talk about what happened the past week. There was nothing notable besides the fact that she graduated two years ahead of the norm. They both knew they couldn't keep this small talk going on forever with the reason for these weekly visits bubbling under the surface.

The last attempt he tried was brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. He tried, once more, to help her deal with the emotional conflicts she fought through every day of her life. He tried to make her aware of the emotions she had unhealthily learned to live with the past five years. He tried to raise her self-esteem to help her into that happy ten year old girl she was supposed to be. But, he failed. Like with all his other attempts.

So they went to the fifth therapy style he hoped he wouldn't have to use.

"Sakura, you and I both recognize that therapy has done little to nothing for you. I accept the fact that you won't talk about it. It's personal. I understand. But, you can't keep this bottled up forever no matter how much you think you can. If you keep it in too long, you may respond to a stimulus in an unintended way."

He didn't need to elaborate for them both to think to her panic attack two years ago. Sakura rubbed her neck, saying nothing.

"We'll try a different approach: exposure therapy. Do you know what that does?" he asked.

Exposure therapy dealt with primarily anxiety disorders; fears, more often than not. It would gradually diminish them by subjecting her to what she was afraid of. Be it desensitization or flooding, she would learn to overcome the fear with time and repetitive action.

She stared at him, unblinkingly. "You want me to be near Uchiha-san."

"Something along the lines of that. Obito-san has agreed to come to these sessions starting next week and will be sitting on that sofa in the corner." Inoichi pointed to the cushions on the far right. "He'll gradually move closer and closer to you until he's sitting right beside you. We'll see where we go from there. Okay?"

Sakura slowly nodded, eyes half lidded and pointed towards the wall. Thirty minutes left. It was enough time to ready herself for the weeks to come if Obito was going to be sat in the room from now on. She wouldn't allow herself to lose her calm when he came.

She _wouldn't_.

::

"Are you actually laying there and doing nothing?" Ibiki mused. "Huh. I never thought I'd see the day where you chose to stay inside instead of doing something you're not supposed to. What's the occasion?"

Sakura moved the couch pillow from her face and fixed him with a groggy glare. "Why's it so hard to believe that I'm capable of taking breaks?"

"Because you don't."

"Oh, great explanation, old man. I never knew you were a master of reasoning," she drawled. Ibiki picked up another pillow at the end of the couch and tossed it at her face and taking its place. There was a comfortable silence between the both of them for a little while before Sakura lifted her head to peer at him. "But you're right, I don't take breaks. I'm actually thinking about a few things."

"And the world gives a collective gasp of fear."

She glared again. " _Anyway_ , I was thinking about why our team was assigned the way it was. I know the three of us are best friends and those two listen to what I say, but... there's no dynamic, you know? Naruto and Sasuke are always bickering- in a good way, of course, but sometimes I feel like them being rivals and friends isn't going to be fine when we're older. I guess Hokage-sama sees me as a mediator, but I won't be around forever."

Ibiki crossed his arms and leaned back. That was something he never heard before, let alone considered. Sakura might try to hide it as hard as she could, but she was prone to worry even over the most insignificant of things. He didn't know why she'd concern herself with the details.

"What brought this on?" he questioned. The girl rubbed at her eyes, showing the dark bags she went through great means to conceal from others aside from himself. It was actually the seventh month of her living in the house when Ibiki first saw the dutiful concealers and chakra replenishing pills (which he confiscated) she kept in the bathroom. Recently, he'd been getting her to try natural sleep remedies to help.

She shrugged. "We're best friends, not a team. When we finally get out into the field, do you know how many problems that'll cause? Emotions get in the way and things aren't done in the most effective way because of it. Naruto and Sasuke don't know what it's like out there."

He looked at her. "And you do?"

"Better than them."

A brazen assertion, but he couldn't find himself disagreeing with her. He'd known her long enough to understand there was a wisdom beneath her snark and skill. She knew more than she let on and lived through enough to make such a statement. But he knew where she was going with this and he didn't like it one bit.

"I want you to remember that it's alright to take care of yourself before taking care of others."

She gave another shrug and placed the pillow back onto her face. Still, he could hear her bitter undertone and see that guilty smile that paired up nicely with her reply. "Well..."

" _Sakura_."

"Kidding. I won't put my life on the line once we start taking field missions. Promise."

Ibiki didn't believe her.

::

"Fifteen more laps."

Naruto, quickly forgetting about the hellfire that curled around his muscles and the buckets of sweat seeping out of every pore in his body, jerked his head at the toned figure watching their progress from the shadows. His legs trembled in exhaustion.

"We... We just... thirty around Konoha..."

"Did I stutter?" Kakashi questioned coolly. "I said fifteen more. Or, I'll have you meditate in 10°C (50°F) water for an hour. Do you want a repeat of what happened last time?"

Last time, Naruto had gotten so tired that he lost consciousness in the middle of the lake. If Sakura hadn't been there to fish him out and make sure water hadn't gotten into his lungs, he would've drowned.

The boy shook his head and forced himself to run another lap. Sasuke wasn't too far behind him and heard the threat his sensei had given, so he merely swallowed his pride and focused on how to keep running without collapsing. Kakashi watched the both of them slowly round the village's walls as he crossed his arms.

Their obedience nearly made up for the insolence of the third one.

"Kakashi, are you trying to get them to hate you? Because it’s hard for them to hold a grudge even with your sadistic tendencies."

He withheld a sigh. _Nearly_.

Sakura slowed to a leisurely stride as she completed her twentieth lap. She had kept a lagging pace behind the other two and hardly looked as drained as her teammates, confirming his assumption that she went as fast as she did for their sake. If he had to make a guess, it would be that she was unfazed with his stamina training because she had something similar done to her before.

"You have fifteen more laps to complete. I suggest you see to it without your normal brand of unnecessary remarks," he said. Of course, she paid no mind to his direction and stretched an arm over her head.

"I know you're trying to mold us into top-notch shinobi, but you shouldn't run them ragged every day. It's Monday. We graduated six days ago."

He didn't look at her. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction that he was actually taking that into deliberation.

"The sooner you learn your lessons, the better off you'll be in the future," he settled on. She gave a lengthy sigh and poked his flak jacket.

"We graduated _six_ days ago," she repeated. "Even if you wanted us to take the upcoming chuunin exams, it's four months away. I don't think we'll be able to compete if most of the team dies of fatigue the first week of training."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Spit it out."

"I want you to understand what you're doing to Sasuke and Naruto. Sure, you're doing this to assess your team and gauge their strengths and weaknesses, but you won't be able to get good results if they don't get time to adjust and recuperate. You've got us training thirteen hours straight with a five minute break here and there and a thirty minute lunch. It's not exactly healthy, you know."

Along with the insolence came a degree of knowing he certainly didn't want or ask for. Annoyingly enough, whatever she seemed to say never seemed to be on unfounded ground. There was always evidence to back her claims, even with that smile he was completely sure was used to make fun of him.

Yet his pride wouldn't let his gaze drop to her no matter how right she was.

"Continue with your laps, Sakura," he ordered. She grinned and mock saluted him before jogging to catch up with her boys. Kakashi watched her go blankly, idly wondering how such insight could be crammed in an impudent ten year old girl.

He waited two more hours until the three of them finished running. Sakura emerged from the exercise with a slight sheen of sweat dampening her clothes. Sasuke leaned against a tree to take gulps of ragged breaths and to try to keep himself from falling onto the ground. Though Naruto was more conspicuous of his tiredness and promptly crumpled on the soft grass with a soft thud.

He didn't get up.

"N-Naruto...?" Sasuke mumbled. He too slid to the ground, chin dropping against his chest as he succumbed to sleep. Sakura gestured to them.

"See? What did I tell you?"

Without waiting for a reply, she made two clones and had them each hoist a boy against their back with the clones' hands holding them up by their thighs and draping the sweaty arms over red cloth shoulders to keep them in place. Kakashi didn't bat an eye.

"So," the real Sakura started. "Are we meeting at six in the morning like usual? I'll try to get them to the grounds on time if we are."

The man shook his head. "No... Seeing the state these two are in, I doubt they'll be able to be in optimal condition for what I have planned. Training will continue on Wednesday," he said. Sakura waved her clones to send her boys home as she leaned forward a bit, a wide grin crawling onto her face.

"Kakashi, are you giving us the day off?"

"I said no such thing."

"Aw, you listened to my advice!"

"I didn't."

His denial didn't stop her from sliding up beside him and nudging his side. He frowned at her friendly demeanor.

"Don't get all shy on me, Kakashi. We both know what this means," she grinned. Kakashi raised an eyebrow despite himself, making Sakura grin wider. "It means you're starting to like me!"

He blinked once before snorting at the ridiculous comment. There was no way he'd ever stoop low enough to start enjoying a brat's company. Black eyes eventually slid to her smiling face and narrowed slightly. She was stronger and far more skilled than her counterparts, but that didn't make any sense. She would've already made a name for herself much like he did at a young age.

It was either she learned everything on her own, or she was being kept under wraps by other shinobi. It didn't matter which it was, it just meant he couldn't underestimate her. Not when she acted like she could see through his intentions.

"Instead of insisting on lies, perhaps you should take the day to catch up on your sleep."

Her smile turned a little less genuine. "Sleep?"

"The sweat moved some of the concealer from under your eyes," he informed quietly. "Have you worried about those two so much that you forgot to worry about yourself?"

Surprisingly, her reaction was something he didn't expect. Sakura's shoulders dropped as she put both hands up in weary defeat. "Okay. You caught me. I'm a certified mother hen. Arrest me. But don't put me in the T&I cells. I know they're nasty as hell."

Kakashi felt he found another aspect of her. She was selfless, yes, and tried to hide it under humor to mask how bad it really was. He searched her gaze and saw how the green- that had been jovial a minute ago—had iced over into a controlled smoothness.

"Is that the reason for your presumably unusual sleep schedule?"

She gave a noncommittal shrug. "Don't worry about it, Kakashi. I've already got an old man at my back who nags me all the time," she sighed. She rested her hands behind her head and slowly strolled off the grounds. "See you around—oh, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

He waited until she was gone before letting out a tired sigh and running a hand through his silver hair.

Him. A sensei.

If this wasn't the worst decision ever made, he didn't know what was.

::

All therapies mentioned are possible treatments for PTSD. For more information, click [here](https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/treatment-ptsd.asp).

::

**EDITED 2/5/18**


	38. Bonds

"Going somewhere?"

Sasori fastened his puppet scrolls around his waist, not once looking up at the man leaning against the living room door frame. The Akatsuki recently assigned to the safe house in River Country—himself, Kakuzu, and Kisame—were ordered to stay out of the public's scrutiny as the next set of missions were laid out and distributed. 

In other words, it was free time.

"Just paying a friend a quick visit," he replied. Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"You have friends?"

"Now you're just being rude."

He tucked Sakura's most recent note into the inner lining of his cloak as he slipped it on. Kisame stepped aside and Sasori walked passed to pick his kunai pouch up from the sofa. He was ready to head off towards Konoha and check if Sakura really had begun to lose some of her sense. 

He wouldn't let her go crazy. He knew he was already too far gone and she had to be the one to keep the sanity between them.

"Is the friend you're visiting Deidara or the Kazekage's youngest son?" Kisame asked. Sasori stopped a few feet away from the door.

Ah.  

He turned, hair brushing against his lashes.

"I thought I did such a great job keeping that a secret," he said. "And if you know, Yahiko-sama must be aware by now. Well, I suppose I could make this trip before I'm brought into questioning and detained for the next month. And it's neither of those two, if you're still wondering."

He managed to take another step before being stopped by the sheer force of the ex-Kiri nin's next few words.

"I didn't tell anyone."

Sasori spun around. " _ What?  _ What do you mean, 'I didn't tell anyone'? My actions are obviously suspicious and should've been reported a long time ago."

Kisame waved his hand about nonchalantly. "What you're doing must be important if you're sneaking around. It's your business. I was just... curious," he said. Ever since their quaint conversation on hypotheticals, the hulking swordsman was very quiet and contemplative around Sasori. The latter thought it was odd, but didn't question it and chalked it up to him being weird again.

"And you're going to let me keep doing it?"

"Yeah."

"Because it's none of your business?"

The taller man nodded. "Pretty much."

"... Huh," the puppet-master muttered, glancing at the door. "Well... I'll bring back a souvenir, I guess."

::

It was 6:30 am.

On Wednesday.

The morning after the team's first day off.

Kakashi, being the kind man that he was, expected his genin to show on time after being graced with his leniency.

...

_ So where the hell were they? _

He tapped an irritated finger on his bicep as he stood in the middle of the training field. He told them their very first meeting that being early meant being  _ on time _ . Fifteen minutes prior than what was set, preferably. But no. They were thirty minutes later than late, making the grand total of forty five minutes they could have training!

There had better be a damn good explanation or one hundred laps around Konoha was in order.

Kakashi turned his head towards a thicket of bushes just before an blue and green blob tumbled out. It quickly shot up to its feet and exclaimed:

"We didn't mean to, dattebayo!"

The man towered over him. "You have five seconds."

"But—!"

"Four."

"W-W-W-Wait!"

"Three."

"Kakash—!"

"Two."

"We couldn't leave 'im!" Naruto cried, his face red from the running ahead he did and the panic that rose when a death glare was aimed at him. "He was scared an' alone an' hurt an' his kaa-san wasn' movin' so we had ta' do somethin'! He woulda'  _ died _ , Kakashi-sensei!"

The jounin refused the urge to cock an eyebrow and looked up at the bushes once more. Sasuke and Sakura came out at a more justified pace with a bundle tucked in the girl's arms. And quite a large bundle it was, seeing as she had to peer all the way to the side to see in front of her.

"Sensei, we have to get him help," Sasuke stated firmly, eyes holding a steady determination that wouldn't allow for an unacceptable answer. The bundle moved slightly.

"Yeah, Kakashi," Sakura added. "Don't get your panties in a twist. Don't you know how long it'll take for you to untangle them?"

The bundle, wrapped in Naruto's orange vest, wriggled until the hood fell away and a head popped out of the masses. Two powder blue eyes peered up from a white furred head. Its black nose twitched as it stared at the subtly surprised Kakashi. A baby deer—a white one—with a loosely bandaged front leg was what kept them so long. If he could say anything about it, there would be a slightly darkened patch on its crown that resembled the sun.

"... What did you think to achieve by bringing it here?"

" _ Its  _ name is Yuki. And we're going to find him some help. I'm pretty sure the wound on his leg is going to need stitches and we want to make sure he doesn't have any more injuries," Sakura said. Kakashi's eyes roamed from the fawn to his three students.

"Perhaps you won't find the help for it."

"Nu-uh!" Naruto protested. "Hana-san's a vet and she told us we could come by anytime! Kiba took us to her office once and we know where it is. We'll go there and make sure Yuki's alright, yeah?"

A tie to the Inuzuka's wasn't something he considered a possibility. Again, an interesting perk that came with the early graduates, but he wouldn't complain. The more connections a shinobi had, the more abilities and techniques they were able to utilize.

He was going to open his mouth and deny their request. They were more than half an hour late, breaking a rule outright. And they had done it for an animal, no less. But he caught Sakura's gaze from above the other heads, her previous words ringing through his ears.

_ Are you trying to get them to hate you? _

"... Fine," he relented. He purposely moved his eyes to avoid seeing the girl's gleeful grin. "We'll go to the Inuzuka Veterinary Clinic."

::

When Hana went to work that morning, her three canine companions rushed forward to the back entrance of the clinic. The Haimaru Brothers had taken quite a liking to Kiba's friends the past few years and would readily greet them if their paths ever crossed, even the odd girl that always carried the smell of cats. Masaru, Masashi, and Masato poked their noses at the ten year olds with familiarity while eyeing the other animal and the strange man.

"Ah, the three squirts," Hana hummed. She waved at them before fishing for her key. "Congratulations on graduating. Since you're here with your sensei, did you get a mission?"

Sasuke shook his head. "We found a deer when we went to the training field. His mom's dead and his leg's hurt."

Hana unlocked the door and held it open to let them in. "Alright, come on in. I'll see what I can do for you."

Kakashi lingered near the back of the group, the dog triplets tailing his heels. He'd never been inside the clinic before as his summons were rarely injured and returned to their homes if they did. Besides, he wasn't known for his personable attitude with other shinobi. He was an ANBU for his village first and foremost and he didn't have time for anything else.

... Though he'd probably have to find a new excuse with the department change.

He stopped outside the examination room and leaned back against the wall, watching as his students patiently waited Hana to look over the fawn. Why they had taken the time to help a wild animal, he couldn't fathom. It should've been left in the forest to learn to fend for itself since it was a circumstance it couldn't refuse.

Those whose futures were doomed from the beginning had to learn to live with their curses. There was no hope in changing that, and he was determined to have his team understand it before it was too late.

"Oi, Kakashi!"

He repressed the urge to sigh and turned a cold stare to his group's little pseudo-leader. "Address me properly."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Anyway, Kakashi," Sakura began. The deer was back in her arms and Sasuke and Naruto hung back to talk to Hana. "Yuki's not hurt anywhere else and his leg'll heal naturally. We'll probably drop him off at the Nara Forest and have him recuperate there."

He regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "You need permission to step on those grounds."

"Nara-san lets as hang out there all the time!" Naruto exclaimed, running up beside Sakura. "When we're with Shikamaru, he says we gotta check on the deer. Rikumaru's my favorite."

The Nara too? They were a family of geniuses that contained the best strategists Konoha had to offer. Not to mention they used deer antlers in numerous medicinal concoctions that came at a quite expensive price if one didn't have ties to the clan.

"Can we go look for Nara-san, sensei?" Sasuke questioned. The man was met with another round of hopeful eyes, the third, of course, observing him carefully to see what kind of answer he'd give. Kakashi leveled his stare.

"... We'll go," he said. He didn't miss the way Sakura's lips pulled up in a proud grin, or the way Hana's eyes widened at his show of compliance. As the team made their way out of the clinic, Hana called out her goodbye.

"Don't cause too much trouble for Hatake-san, you hear? I heard about what happened with the potatoes!"

The Haimaru Brothers yipped in agreement.

::

Sasuke and Naruto walked a bit ahead of the group, occasionally nudging each other and arguing about where to find Shikaku. It left Kakashi and Sakura to take their time while watching for any mishaps the two boys could get into.

"You know we're missing your precious training time, right? Those 'life or death' sessions or whatever you call them."

The Hatake glanced down at the fawn, whose blue eyes stared at him intently. "I have a schedule. I will follow that schedule. You don't need to know anything about it- just follow what you're told and there won't be a problem."

"Cut the crap, Kakashi. You're doing this because you like us, huh?"

The  _ audacity  _ astounded him.

"Actually, I bet that in seven days we can get you to admit you like us!" Sakura continued. At Kakashi's dead stare, she beamed. "Seriously, I mean it. A week from tomorrow, you'll see that you like us so much that we'll be the best thing that's ever happened to you. Stakes! I'll even hold up stakes to show you how right I am!"

He took a look at Naruto, who was bristling at something said to him, then Sasuke, whose smug smirk displayed his victory in whatever argument he got himself into. Kakashi returned his attention to her.

"Stakes?"

"If I win, you have to go up to Dan-sama and tell him that no matter what happens, we'll always be your team," she stated. An odd stipulation, he admitted, and one he couldn't even see how it would benefit her.

"And if I win?"

"If  _ you  _ win, I'll call you by your proper title and won't give anymore of my lovely commentary. Deal?"

A chance to be free from her unappreciated snark? It took him a while to digest her conditions before he- irritatingly- started weighing out his options. He could join this childish game and have a 50/50 shot at finally getting her to curb her ridiculous attitude. It would save him the trouble of enacting disciplinary measures. But on the other hand, he was going to lower himself to a point where he'd be making bets with a ten year old.

If he backed out, though, it would look even worse on him.

Well, at least he had nothing to lose.

"Deal," Kakashi said. "The bet will end at noon, a week from tomorrow."

Sakura didn't grin this time. Rather, her eyes lit up with something he'd never seen on her before. She turned and walked ahead before he could say anything about it.

Those eyes...

Surely, they couldn't have looked as sad as he thought he'd seen.

**Day 1: Thursday**

"Where's Sakura?"

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances. Around 5:45 in the morning, the two of them came by themselves on certain circumstances. They would have normally met up with Sakura halfway to the training grounds, but a note tacked onto a nearby tree acted as her substitute instead.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "She, uh... won't be here today. 'Cause she's at her shrink."

"Therapist," Sasuke corrected. "Sakura's going to be with her therapist the whole day, but she'll be back tomorrow."

Kakashi might not be too taken with the girl, but that didn't mean he'd not think that piece of information wasn't something to keep in mind. A therapist?

Why?

::

Inoichi asked her to come early so afterwards, she could sneak the day away answering practice cases in Ibiki's office. That, and the only time Obito was free were the few early hours he had until the official start of a separate mission of his.

Sakura's palms dampened with sweat as she sat on the worn couch. Obito said nothing from his spot against the wall, but his mere presence—especially after what happened a couple of years ago—was enough to set her on edge.

"I hope you don't mind me taking you out of your genin team for the day," Inoichi said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Will your sensei get upset?"

"Kakashi can live with it," she snorted. She flinched as Obito's gaze shot up at the name. Inoichi clicked his pen and jotted down some notes.

_ Patient susceptible to sudden movements. _

_ Consistent response with documented panic attack at 8 years old. _

"I guess you wouldn't have it any other way. Let's proceed the session as we normally do- anything interesting happen this past week?"

Sakura's eyes flickered to her right, then moved to the spot on the wall to avoid both their gazes. "Nothing really."

The Yamanaka lifted a page on his clipboard and moved his pen.

_ Exposure therapy will last through  _ **_severa_ ** _**l** future sessions. _

**Day 2: Friday**

Naruto grumbled to himself as he bent over to pick up another piece of plastic stuck beneath the river rocks. He knew they were genin and they had to take the lowest ranking of missions and yeah, sure, he knew something like this had to be done. Shinobi were commissioned to do any and all jobs, Iruka told him all the time, and he was grateful that the job market was pretty decent towards beginners.

It was just...

"ARGH! This is so damn  _ boring _ !" 

Sakura chucked a small pebble at him. "You're serving the community, Naruto."

"Well the community's stupid, 'ttebayo!" he shouted. He spun around, splashing water to the sides as he glared up at his sensei who was standing in the shade of the treeline and watching them with blank eyes. "What 'bout you, sensei? If we gotta 'serve the community', you gotta do it to!"

"He doesn't have to, Naruto. Kakashi's our team leader no matter how much he sucks at it, and we have to listen. He's kind of in charge of us," she said.

"How's that fair?" Sasuke asked. He tossed an empty can into the trash basket he carried on his back. Three hours they'd spent mulling around the river to take whatever trash they happened to stumble across. Their feet were starting to prune and the water had gotten slightly warmer than when they first started, but it was still cold.

"Life's not supposed to be fair. Look, you two, the sooner we get this clean up done, the sooner we can see Shino's new colony. Do we want to keep him waiting or no?"

Much to Kakashi's interest, their complaints ceased and they continued with their work. He didn't know how to feel about Sakura's blatant...  _ authority  _ over the two, even when she never acted above them or said anything that implied it. She simply acted as if she knew better or that she held a certain wisdom that the two had yet to understand.

She glanced his direction before turning away, making him narrow his eyes.

No, it wasn't an act. She probably did know better. How, he had yet to figure out.

Naruto trudged downstream, following a slip of paper he couldn't care to run after. Sasuke looked over his shoulder.

"Careful, dobe. You're getting close to the waterfall."

The older boy turned until he was walking backwards and stuck his tongue out. "I know there's a waterfall! I'm not dumb enough to—AHH!!"

Naruto slipped on some of the smoother rocks on the river bottom and tipped backwards. Sasuke threw his basket to the bank and lunged forward, hand outstretched to try and grab the other boy's hand before he fell off the edge. He managed, but the momentum brought him forward instead of back.

Kakashi didn't hear the slosh of water of someone hastily running through the river.

Kakashi didn't sense any sort of chakra collecting at someone's expense.

Kakashi didn't see anyone else move.

But yet, she was there. Sakura, somehow, had silently gotten to the other end of the river faster than the naked eye could track and grasped Sasuke's hand before he and Naruto could take the whole waterfall down. The soles of her feet glowed a light blue as she stood above the steady river current, and the weight of two ten year old boys hadn't hindered her in the slightest.

"Can you two take something seriously for once?" she sighed. She looked up at Kakashi. "Yo, Kakashi! If you can give me a little help, I'll take back that comment of you being a sucky sensei!"

She shouldn't have been capable of doing that.

"You got over there just fine," he mentioned lightly. "You're more than capable of helping them up yourself."

She shouldn't have gotten by without him knowing.

"Why, Kakashi! If you didn't say that to be such an asshole I'd say that was a compliment!" Sakura grinned. She used her free hand to hook under Sasuke's bicep to hoist both her boys back a safe distance away from the waterfall. Naruto sputtered incredulously, tumbling onto land and kissing the ground like he hadn't seen it in a hundred years.

"Idiot!" Sasuke growled. "I said you were getting close to the waterfall! If Sakura wasn't there then you would've died!"

"Sakura-chan's always gonna be there so it wasn't that bad, bastard! We're okay, right?!" he shot back.

The only female on the team lost the shine in her eyes at that short sentence. She suddenly stepped away from them both and adjusted the straps of the trash basket, returning to her duties with a small frown on her face.

Neither Sasuke or Naruto noticed.

...

But Kakashi did.

**Day 3: Saturday**

Weeds.

Stupid, stringy, annoying weeds.

At least there weren't any waterfalls to accidentally fall over this time.

A civilian who ran a close-by persimmon farm had requested their services to help clean up his grounds so that his profits wouldn't decline from the mild infestation. It was a simple enough task even if the land was so expansive, but the plucking wasn't the problem that had Sakura's hand twitch every time it made itself known.

It was the shitty civilian who wouldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Koichi, you stupid, stupid boy!" the civilian roared. "Any simpleton can get this job done, yet you can't! What's so hard about it?!"

The five year old Koichi, whose light brown hair stood at odd ends, looked up at his father with watery gray eyes. "I-I'm so... so..."

"A question, boy! How many times do I have to tell you to give me an  _ answer  _ when I ask you a  _ question _ ?!"

The genin team was across the field, but the civilian's voice cut through the air like a butcher hacking at a rotten cut. They had only been working a short time, but there wasn't one second where the man hadn't found fault with the little boy.

"Go tend to the fruit and be useful for once, you worthless brat!"

Koichi ducked his head, nearly tripping over his own feet as he ran as fast as he could to the trees just a few meters away from the weed-pulling trio. As the civilian disappeared into his house, Naruto dropped his weeds.

"Koichi, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. S'okay, Shinobi-san. I don' mind."

Sakura gritted her teeth but said nothing. Sasuke patted her shoulder. The three of them didn't need to be warned about what would happen if she snapped and lost her cool in the middle of the mission. Dan would definitely be upset with them and probably move them off the roster for a week or two.

Kakashi sat on the wooden fence beside them. He had a book about some sort of philosophy held against his knee and read without a care in the the world. On the outside, he was nonchalant and uncaring as ever. 

Inside?

Probably as irritated as the rest of his team.

But it wasn't their place to step into matters that weren't their own. Of course it was wrong and the boy's father shouldn't be acting so harsh, but what could they do? This was a job and he was a client. Nothing in their contract said they had to look into their employer's personal life.

All that had to be done was pull all of the weeds, have the civilian's approval, then probably never come back.

::

"What did I tell you?! Tend to the fruit! The FRUIT! So what is all this crap you're showing me, you little shit?!"

Some of the fruits were nearly ripe, so Koichi had hauled a ladder all the way to the tree and began picked the persimmons. Though he had picked one too much, the weight causing him to topple off the ladder and drop onto the ground.

The civilian was more concerned about the bruises on the fruit than the bruises on his son's back.

"I di-didn't mean t-t-to!" Koichi cried. The civilian's face burned with rage as he raised his hand, knuckles pointed towards the ground.

"Raising your voice at me?! You insolent cur!"

_ SMACK! _

Kakashi's eyes widened. Because there, stood in front of a cowering little boy, was Naruto with his face jerked to the left. His cheek gleamed an angry red. The man's eyes widened further when the civilian recoiled in disgust, not in surprise or shock, but  _ disgust  _ when he got a good look at the genin's face.

"The demon defending the good-for-nothing. Fitting," the civilian hissed. He had no time to react when a fist appeared in his vision and clocked him clear in the jaw, sending him sailing into the dirt and letting an audible crack ring in everyone's ears.

"Say that again, filth. I fucking dare you," Sakura snarled. Her bandaged hand stayed balled even as the sorry excuse of a man held his chin and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"You hit me!"

"I returned the favor."

"I'll report you!" he shouted. "I'll report the lot of you!"

"To who?" Sasuke questioned smoothly, speaking up for the first time. He stepped up to stand on the other side of Naruto and placed a pale hand atop Koichi's quivering head. "Uchiha Fugaku is head of the Uchiha and the Police Commissioner, the highest possible rank, of the Konoha Keimu Butai."

The civilian gave him a dirty look. "I know that!" he snapped. Sasuke raised his chin.

"Then who's he going to believe—a lowly farmer or his own son?"

A few moments passed before the threat sunk in and the civilian's face gained an unhealthy pallor. He knew he was going to lose this battle, so he whipped his head towards their sensei. Kakashi's face returned to its usual blankness.

"They’re your students and they'll be held responsible! Do something about them!" the civilian demanded. The jounin raised an eyebrow.

"You raised a hand to your own child, hit my student, then refused to apologize for your wrongdoing by insulting him instead. I say the reactions were warranted," he said. "If you believe not, report it to Hokage-sama. I'm  _ sure  _ he'll listen to your claims after you've been handled by child services."

Sakura retracted her hand and pulled out bruise salve from her pouch to tend to both Koichi and Naruto.

Weeds.

It was always the stupid, stringy, annoying weeds.

**Day 4: Sunday**

"You've eaten at Ichiraku's right, sensei?" 

Kakashi looked up from sharpening his kunai. This was their hour break for lunch when they'd normally run off the minute they were dismissed and came back a minute before they were counted as late.

"No."

"WHAT?!" Naruto shrieked. The man held himself to keep from flinching at the horrible volume the boy's voice had risen to. "Everyone's tried Ichiraku's! It's the best ramen in Konoha!"

"I'm not too fond of ramen," Kakashi replied. Naruto's mouth dropped to the ground, his hand clutching his heart like he'd been stabbed a million times. Without another word, he grabbed his teacher's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke! Sensei doesn't like ramen! He's possessed, dattebayo! POSSESSED! We gotta give him ramen to save his life!" he yelled. No correlation, but Kakashi expected nothing less of the him. Given what had happened just yesterday, he supposed he could let himself be dragged off to who knows where. The ramen shop?

That's where he found himself not ten minutes later, sitting on one of the stools in the stall with Sasuke and Naruto on one side of him and Sakura on the other. 

"Ah, my best customers!" Teuchi greeted with his cheery grin. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. Nice to see you three again! Here to treat your sensei to lunch?"

"Yup!" Naruto chirped. "He's gotta try the best! So we'll have four miso, one chicken, and one tempura please!"

Sakura poked Kakashi's side. "Naruto usually eats three bowls. It's actually pretty scary, if you ask me," she whispered. The man spared her a quick glance.

"You're here often?"

"Mostly. Sometimes we can get him to the other stalls, but Ichiraku's will always be his favorite. He only brings people he likes here," she smiled. "You think you can guess what that means?"

Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but failed to stop the feeling that he was beginning to think of the three as tolerable. The only people he found tolerable were Obito and, to a very special extent, Gai. He wasn't about to put those three brats on their level.

Sakura pressed her hands to her mouth and hit her fist against the counter, shoulders shaking with laughter and tears threatening to trickle from her eyes. Kakashi blinked at her for a second before looking to his other side. Sasuke was in a similar state, trying hard to keep himself from falling off his stool.

Naruto had stuck a pair of chopsticks up his nose and began giving his best impression of the Daimyou's wife.

Kakashi pressed his lips together and refused the quirk that threatened to take the edge of his mouth.

Nope. Not tolerable. Absolutely not at all.

**Day 5: Monday**

Kakashi stood merely fifty meters ahead of her, observing the way Naruto and Sasuke sparred with taijutsu only. She should’ve been paying attention to them just as much as their sensei was. 

Instead, she was whisper-yelling up at the tree beside her.

"You're crazy!" she hissed. "You're going to get caught, then you're going to get me in trouble, and then I'm going to have to bail your dumbass out!"

"I'm crazy? Me? I'm not the one who wants to make Uchiha Itachi the Rokudaime Hokage. You need to explain that to me right now or I'm not leaving," Sasori returned. She made a choking motion in his direction, looked at Kakashi to make sure he still hadn't become suspicious, and looked back.

"A literal ANBU is right there!"

"And? We could probably take him down, no problem," he shrugged. Sakura was tempted to break the tree he took refuge in, but didn't for the sake of not getting caught. He should realize how lucky he was that she wasn't going to.

"Seriously, can we do this later? My plan is long-winded and will take a while to explain. And honestly, I'd prefer to stay on Kakashi's good side for at least a week. That means no conspiring with, oh, I don't know, S-Class criminals!"

Sasori waved a hand. "Unimportant. Well, I guess I'll have to wait out on telling you about Kisame suspecting I'm actually a time-traveler."

...

"What?"

"I was joking, but I think I said too much."

Sakura pressed a palm to her forehead, foreseeing the headache that would come in a few minutes. Eighty years in the Void, was it? It must have been a hell of a time to turn one of the greatest geniuses the shinobi world had come to know into a complete, utter idiot.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out. "What are you doing?"

She met his even gaze with a bland stare. "There's a stupid squirrel in the tree, Kakashi. I'm trying to get it to go away," she said. Luckily, he was used to her oddness and turned back to the sparring duo.

Sasori chucked an acorn at her head the same second. 

**Day 6: Tuesday**

Ibiki tugged on his trench coat as he opened the fridge to get himself a glass of orange juice and a piece of onigiri. When he shut the door, Sakura appeared right next to him holding out a pen and a piece of notepad paper.

"Write down Kakashi's address for me?"

He took the pen and paper while taking a bite of his breakfast. "Pour me some juice. Isn't it an off day for your team? Don't tell me you're choosing to bother Hatake over being a decent citizen of the village," he said. Sakura took a glass from the cabinet, poured a cup, then put the rest of it back into the fridge.

"I'm always a decent citizen, for your information. The time the Hokage Monument was painted orange was a moment of weakness," she countered. Ibiki handed her the paper, downing his drink in one gulp and setting it in the sink.

"Of course it was. Will you be back tonight or tomorrow morning?"

"Hm... probably tomorrow morning."

He nodded. After putting on his sandals, he opened the front door for her to step out before doing so himself and locking the door. "Don't get arrested."

"Wouldn't dream of it. See you tomorrow, old man!"

::

He was probably going to spend his afternoon visiting the memorial stone or scouting for a spare mission the Hokage might have in store. Those plans were genin-free, giving him at least 24 hours to clear his mind and think up a new training regime to work on their dynamic, or lack thereof.

It was going to be a good day.

Until they showed up at his doorstep. With grocery bags. And shit-eating grins.

"Afternoon, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. He let himself in despite the twitching of his teacher's left eye. "Did you eat yet? Well, if you did that's okay. The food's gonna take a while anyway."

"We'll make sure to make it the best we can. Don't worry, we've had lots of practice so it's safe to eat," Sasuke assured. He too came into the apartment and followed his rival into the kitchen. Kakashi very slowly turned to the last, most obvious culprit of the group.

"Where did you get my address?"

"I talked to none-of-your-business. They were very helpful," she answered cheekily. She also let herself into the apartment and set her plastic bags onto the counter. He watched in hopelessness at his team raided his kitchen for cooking supplies and other things they might need for whatever the hell they were doing.

"Hey, sensei," Naruto called, "how do you work your oven?"

" _ Get out of my house. _ "

::

He should've known better. Really. Since it was technically an off day for all of them, Sakura found an even greater reason to not listen to him and urged her boys to continue without listening to a word their sensei said. When it came down to listening to either him or her, the choice was obvious. And always would be.

But that didn't mean they could crash at his place for the night.

Dinner was actually quite nice, much to his surprise, when they made salt-broiled saury with a side of miso soup with eggplant (he didn't complain when they made his favorite dishes) and followed it up with sponge cakes for dessert. Afterwards, they played some old movies on his TV until Naruto and Sasuke fell asleep on his couch.

He considered kicking them out, but they would probably find a way through the window or trigger all his traps while trying.

"So why aren't you asleep?"

Sakura tilted her head to look at him. "Hm?"

"You already invaded my apartment and took over my kitchen and my couch," he pointed out, "and as the tyrant you are, I expected you to declare victory. Is it that you don't want to sleep or you can't?"

She gave a humorless laugh and swung her legs off the armrest and onto the ground. Propping her cheek with her palm, she regarded the man she knew years and years ago with eyes that appeared too tired to keep going on. "You ask a lot of questions. Did you know that?"

He glimpsed at the clock sitting above the TV. 11:59 pm.

"No one's ever told me that before. Perhaps it's because I tend not to associate with others," he said. "But you knew that. I don't know why, but you do. You always seem to know something everyone else doesn't."

**Day 7: Wednesday**

From her silence, he could see an unnatural guilt in her eyes. It didn't matter how many jokes she made or every comment she quipped to deflect attention away from herself, whatever she was trying to hide would always show itself at the end of the day.

It was... familiar. Her suffering and everything she would never tell a soul. It was the same look he saw in himself when his father committed suicide, leaving his only son to find his lifeless body curled up on the floor in the middle of the night. It was the same look he saw in himself when Rin took death in his place. It was the same look he saw in himself every day of his ANBU life, wondering who he would kill next and if he'd ever forget what happened to him.

All those years of pain and the inability to forget, he saw in this ten year old girl. She carried an unfathomable weight no one else knew of, maybe because no one else could see. But  _ he  _ did. He knew it was there because he saw it for himself.

"How many people have you lost?" he asked, voice no higher than a murmur. Sakura turned her gaze to narrow on Naruto, an empty smile growing on her face at the sight of drool trickling down his chin. Then she looked at Sasuke who looked as prim and proper as he did when he was awake.

"I don't know," she said. "I don't like to count."

With nothing else to say to her, he retired to his room knowing that he wouldn't be the only one to stay awake the rest of the morning.

**Thursday**

At noon, Kakashi went to the Hokage Tower to tell Dan something of utmost importance, knowing exactly how it would play out. He would knock on the office door twice and let himself in. A few pleasantries would be exchanged before Dan would go on to ask why he had come.

"I'm here about my team," Kakashi would say. The Godaime would grow confused and ask if he was displeased with his genin and if he wished for a change of status. Kakashi would shake his head no and surprise his superior and his niece, but not as much as he would with his request.

He would ask to make the assignment official, where the graduates wouldn't be called Team Kakashi any longer. They would be called Squadron Seven only after he'd help them grow into the shinobi they were always meant to be.

"Why?" Dan would ask, astounded that things had taken such a turn. Kakashi would then give a shrug of his shoulders and then look out the window.

"Because no matter what happens, we'll always be a team," he would answer. But when it did happen, he would never admit to wanting to make himself better after seeing how much happier he could be.

::

**Aw, everything's happy!**

**...**

**_For now._ **

::

**EDITED 2/5/18**


	39. Outset

"What's the matter with you? Showing up at my training session like that could've gotten us both killed!" Sakura hissed. Kakashi had called an early day half past eleven in the morning, leaving the three ample time to spend with their families. Sasuke and Naruto, at least. Sasori rolled his eyes and motioned her to join him on his tree branch.

"We're fine, aren't we? I visited you and now we can sort all this stuff out. You've gone crazy, and I'm here to find out why."

"Who was it who told Kisame who we really were  _ because he was making a joke _ ?"

"I came here to pay you a nice visit and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now."

She sighed and went to sit beside him on the branch. They had, possibly, thirty minutes until Kakashi finished with his meeting. "We'll make this quick. I tell you about my plan for Itachi-san, you tell me about Hoshigaki, then you'll hang around for a few days if anything happens," she said. He gestured towards her and leaned back against the trunk.

"Children first."

Sakura scoffed. "Ever since Dan-sama became Hokage, he's taking a more amicable and less domineering tenure than Tsunade's. He's looking for world peace, she didn't," the girl explained. She pointed towards the compound lying on the outskirts of Konoha. "Clans are important here and there are four noble ones: the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Akimichi, and the Aburame. The only ones to worry about are the the first two."

She brought up her hand and held up four fingers.

"The Akimichi are big on defensive maneuvers and mass destruction, but are a kind people. I met Akimichi-san five years ago, and he appreciates that I've become friends with his son. He loves it when Naruto, Shikamaru, and I come over. He's far from being a problem and he never makes rash decisions."

Her pinky went down, leaving three fingers.

"The Aburame specialize in reconnaissance and infiltration. Aburame-san doesn't like sitting through the clan meetings or being involved in village politics as long as the clan is safe and happy. Him and his son are my sources for insect-based poisons, antidotes, and medication. If you give him enough reason for something, he wouldn't think too much of it and back it up if it benefits the majority. Which leaves us with the Hyuuga and the Uchiha."

Her ring finger went down next.

"The Hyuuga and the Uchiha, arguably, are the most powerful clans in the village. Their relations with each other are rocky, but Sasuke and Hinata are close friends now, as well as members of their clans' main houses. Rivalry can be satiated for now, but can be advanced with two things. Marriage and positions of power."

Sasori looked at her like she'd grown a second head. Not because of the plan she had so ingeniously created, but because she hadn't included him in her plotting from the very beginning. How inconsiderate.

"Itachi-san agrees most with Dan-sama's ideals. He loves his clan, but he loves his village even more hence the massacre in the other timeline," Sakura continued. He followed along closely, having been told of those circumstances a few years back. "If you put him in position of Hokage, tensions between Konoha and his clan would dissipate. The Hyuuga, not to be left out, would be offered a high position with great influence. ANBU Director, maybe? I'm thinking of putting Neji in that one."

He gave her a blank stare.

"That leaves Sasuke with possible claim as clan head, and either Hinata or Hanabi leading the Hyuuga. We still have years to work out the bugs, but that's all relative. There. Your turn," she said. She waved her hand for him to elaborate on his accidental reveal. He shrugged.

"What can I say? I made a long joke about you and I coming back to the past from the Void to change things for the better. He wasn't supposed to take me seriously, but he started putting the pieces together as to why I act so different. But!" Sasori interjected when she opened her mouth to call him an idiot. She crossed her arms and waited. "He can help us. He knows I've been going to see Deidara and Gaara when I can, and he won't report me. If we need the backup, he's our guy."

Sakura eyed him. "You trust him?" she asked. Sasori tilted his head to look up the green leaves suspended motionless above them. He didn't necessarily 'trust' Kisame in the past, nor did he see any reason to start to. The Akatsuki was built off of people whose personal goals coincidentally aligned to a greater end. There was no need for trust because there was no need to be one giant team.

"... No," he answered carefully. "I would try to keep my life out of his hands, if that's what you mean."

_ "So you don't trust your friends." _

_ "I would try to keep my life out of their hands, if that's what you mean."  _

Sakura blinked away the sudden memory of her mental health examination before letting out another sigh. "Yeah. That's what I mean."

::

"I'm actually quite pleased with how you feel about your team, Hatake-san," Dan smiled. He took the stack of papers Shizune offered him and glanced down. "Actually, such sentiments would do well with what I'm planning with Kiri."

Kakashi's brow furrowed. "We have no alliance with  _ Chigiri _ ," he said.  _ Chigiri _ — the 'Bloody Mist', as many outside the village liked to call it, took its reputation from the ritual of Academy students slaughtering each other in order to graduate. It was barbaric and obscene, leading the other nations to steer clear of both its ventures and its ruthless Mizukage.

Dan nodded. "Kiri hasn't engaged in that test for years now after Yagura-san dismantled it right after taking up his position as Yondaime. I know our villages' relations haven't been on the best of terms for a very long time, and the other Kage haven't made a move towards peace. So, I proposed a way to reduce the hostility."

Kato Dan had always been known for his good heart and his dedication on creating peace. Sometimes, such dedication led to decisions questioned by many but never voiced out because his people trusted him so much.

A blind faith.

Kakashi wasn't too comfortable with the idea. "What do you plan on doing, Hokage-sama?" 

"Yagura-san and I have been talking, and we've decided that the best influences start with the younger generations. C-rank missions are the highest we're willing to go for collaborations until we've built the program's reputation high enough, but we'll manage," Dan explained. The jounin didn't like where this was going. "And since you have fully accepted your team and they are the first genin team to graduate ahead of schedule in five years, you're the perfect candidates."

Kakashi's pinky finger twitched, unnoticed by the other occupants of the room. "What... do you have in mind?"

::

"A guard mission in Nami no Kuni?" Ibiki questioned, reading through the mission copy his ward received an hour ago. "This is a C-rank. Hokage-sama normally wouldn't allow something like this."

"Shouldn't be a problem for you and your skill set, but I have my doubts on the Uchiha and Umino's kid," Genma added. Sakura shrugged as her eyes hovered towards the office window. The mission surprised her, to say the least, but she was lucky Sasori was still lurking around the village. She might need his back-up if things happened the same way as last time. But with these conditions, things might go even worse than before.

"I'm not complaining. Hokage-sama's doing it to improve Konoha's relationship with Kiri."

"You're slated to protect a bridge builder," Ibiki read.

"Better than falling off waterfalls, old man."

This wasn't supposed to happen.  _ Two years early _ , nonetheless. What was she going to do this time around? There was no course of action to take, nothing she could foresee, and had no idea what to plan for. All that was detailed in the description was that they were to stay a few weeks to make sure Tazuna and his construction workers finished their bridge without anything going wrong. Like Ibiki said, it shouldn't be a problem for her, at least, but their joint team...

Genma looked over the interrogator's shoulder and moved his senbon to the other corner of his mouth.

"Huh. Well, I guess it can be too bad. Who're the representatives you're working with?" he asked. Sakura bit the inside of her cheek.

"Momochi Zabuza and his apprentice, Haku."

::

"A mission outside the country?! This is gonna be AWESOME, dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. Sakura shook her head at his exuberance and slung her pack over both of her shoulders. She couldn't share the same excitement when this was the mission that gave her team a harsh reality check by exposing the Kyuubi and allowing Sasuke to awaken the first tomoe of his sharingan. 

And he nearly lost his life in the fight against Haku!

Not only that, but there were two deaths that could've been prevented if they were skilled enough to have done something about it.

"Sakura-chan, did you bring the box with you?" Naruto asked. Sakura slipped her hand into the pack on her hip and pulled out a glass case that fit into the the palm of her hand. At Kakashi's silent question, she took out a picture of a spiky caterpillar.

"We're going to Nami no Kuni, yeah? I heard that they have the  _ lonomia obliq _ -er, the Giant Silkworm Moth around there. Makes for good poisons that cause blood hemorrhages and anti-clotting properties," she informed. The man shook his head and chalked it up to being one of her more peculiar quirks. Here, he wasn't even sure that she was supposed to be a genin with the things she liked to occupy herself with.

But there were more pressing matters at the moment. They would reach Nami no Kuni within the next week and meet Tazuna as well as the Kiri shinobi they'd be working with for about a month. He heard more than enough stories about Zabuza and his reputation, since his generation was still a part of those savage blood matches.

He didn't know what type of people the Kiri shinobi would be, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

_ "I... don't want to go against your better judgment, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said. He flexed his fingers. "But I'm not sure my team is experienced enough to take the job. If Momochi is content enough to bring one student as opposed to my three, it means this Haku is more advanced than them. What of the off-chance there's a betrayal or ulterior motive?" _

_ That was his utmost concern. Kakashi was confident in his skills to fend for himself if things with Zabuza went awry, but if Haku faced his genin... _

_ "It won't be a problem. If worst comes to worst, I'm positive your team can hold their own," Dan assured. Kakashi's eyebrows pulled down into a crease. _

_ "How?" _

_ The Godaime smiled, his eyes shining with something teasing. "Haruno Sakura is your student. Perhaps it's something you should ask her, as I can't give you an answer myself." _

Sakura would be the one to level the playing field? That shouldn't be. Her skills were certainly higher than average and could be paired with any other chuunin. There wasn't a thing noteworthy about her other than her unusual capacity at such a young age.

Unless she was hiding her true potential.

His eyes slanted to the left and met the aforementioned's neutral gaze.

"Something you need, Kakashi?"

He stared at her for a few moments before looking back ahead of him, towards the west, and towards the most challenging mission their team had yet. "... Nothing. Keep forward."

::

A traveling monk stood on a cliff's edge that overlooked calmly undulating waters and a sunset that pulsed a blushing amber. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen light when all he'd known to comfort him was darkness the years that passed him by with no hope and no one to save him

So for years, he took at least an hour to appreciate what his soul had taken for granted.

"Shishou?"

The monk turned at the voice of his young disciple. "Hm?"

"If we don't set out soon, we might not make it to the fishing village before nightfall," the boy said. He ducked his head. "Not to mean any disrespect. I... I heard from some locals that there's been a lot of bad people here ever since that shipping baron came into power..."

The monk dipped his head before taking one last look at the horizon. "I've heard. That's why I wanted us to come here in the first place," he hummed. His disciple looked up, rust colored eyes shining with curiosity.

"Why?"

"There's a rumor that Gato will fall.” The monk pulled down his hat so that its shadowed tendrils wrapped around his face. "And I want to see who’ll make it happen."

::

**EDITED 2/5/18**


	40. Heavy

The traveling monk sighed as he sat down on one of the many benches planted on the side of a road in Nami no Kuni. His disciple was kind enough to offer to get their lunch from a vendor just a block away. Their travels these past years have been as fruitless with him mostly stopping bandit attacks on merchants or small civilian villages.

There was nothing more he could do considering he had no set affiliation and that he and his disciple lived a nomadic lifestyle. It was a far cry from how he lived his life before, but this was his penance for the things he'd done. Definitely not a soul crushing one either. He was starting to really enjoy himself.

"Shishou, I got our food!"

The monk scooted over to make room for the thirteen year old boy. "Thanks. Did you see any trouble along the way?"

The boy scratched his cheek as he opened his bento. "Well, I saw a couple. I think they were married and the wife didn't look like she wanted to be there. She was forcing herself to smile and whenever the husband raised his hand or made a sudden movement, she would flinch or duck her head. I asked her if she was okay, but the husband cut me off and said she was fine before grabbing her wrist and dragging her away," he frowned. "I don't think he's being good to her. Should we help?"

The monk opened his own bento and broke apart his chopsticks. "We can't assume such a personal thing of them. If the husband ever acted out in public, then it's been made a public matter and we'll intervene."

The boy looked less than pleased, but nodded regardless. The monk patted his disciple's head and let out the words he used to speak so rashly in the years behind him.

"Divine punishment awaits those ignorant to the pain of others. If we aren't able to help the wife, the husband will pay his dues."

::

Iruka sat at a small cafe tucked into a street corner not too far from the Akasen. He stared down at his cup of tea worriedly, his thoughts meandering back to Naruto and the mission he had left for not too long ago. His adopted son was only ten years old, after all, and despite already achieving genin status and dutifully completing every D-rank assigned to the team (he was extremely proud at what the three had done for the son of that persimmon farmer), he was still worried about them taking on a C-rank.

With  _ Kiri shinobi _ , no less.

Weren't those the guys that ate iron nails for breakfast?

"Lookin' a lil' worried there."

Iruka smiled at the familiar voice and turned his head to his companion for the morning. He stood a bit to peck Mari on the cheek before the taller man took a seat across from him.

"Yeah, sorry," the Academy sensei apologized. "It's just, Naruto, you know? I know he's got Sasuke, Sakura, and Hatake-san with him, but... There's Kiri-nin. A guard mission. A dictatorial shipping magnate! What if something happens to him?! What if something happens to  _ any  _ of them?!"

Mari reached across the table and laid a hand atop Iruka's. The darker one was shaking, in fear more likely than not.

"Naru-chan's gonna be okay. He's tough kid. Sasuke and Sakura-chan too. And that Hatake fellow—he's strong, ain't he? He'll protect 'em," Mari murmured. At his partner's worried gaze, the blond man tightened his grip. "Hey, nothin's gonna happen. Come to the bar after work and have a couple a' drinks, then stay the night. Yeah?"

Iruka turned his hand to hold the other properly. "Yeah."

"And when Naruto-chan comes home, he'll have the two of us waitin' for 'im."

The younger man nodded. He was so happy he had someone so supportive of him and who loved Naruto just as much as he did. It didn't matter that Mari had a bar inside the red light district or that Iruka was a teacher at the Shinobi Academy.

What they had now was more than enough. 

::

The first night traveling towards Nami no Kuni, sleep evaded her. 

Sakura volunteered to take up watch the whole night, much to her boys' dismay and Kakashi's curious calculations. He already knew she had trouble sleeping, but he was beginning to think that there was something more behind her restless nights. Insomnia could be a perfect cause for such. She didn't have the looks of someone suffering from it because of a medical condition like asthma or lower back pain, so that left the other reason.

A psychiatric disorder.

As night settled in and the fire slowly died down to a flicker of a flame, Kakashi raised his eyes at Sakura, who had herself perched up on a high branch just out of range. Her face, the one that always seemed to be mocking him in some way shape or form, had lost all its shine and was darkened with the stacks of days she hadn't slept. The bags he saw under her eyes were more pronounced now and glowing with the frustrated expression that showed through clenched teeth and a hopeless stare.

He blinked. This couldn't be his student he was looking at. She looked so much older and so much sadder than she always appeared to be.

Oh, but it was no matter what angle he saw her from. That confident little brat that lectured him when he was the one who was supposed to give the lectures had lost all the spirit in her bones. He turned his head and saw Naruto and Sasuke passed out in their sleeping bags, blissfully unaware of the way their friend probably wallowed in her sorrows night after night. If they knew, they wouldn't have let her take shift the whole night.

"... it... doesn't...  _ sense _ ..."

Kakashi raised his head against the moonlight and the dead silent forest.

"How... do... this...?"

She was talking to herself?

"I can't. I can't do this," she whispered fiercely. "None of... any... damn sense. It wasn't... this way! If everything was different from... the point of... being here?!"

Thin threads of chakra crawled to Kakashi's ears as he strained to listen in on what she was saying. Her arm extended, and if he hadn't been staring directly at the movement, he would have missed the four inch long shadow that crept up her arm.

It was shaped like a...

... scorpion?

Her voice lowered until he could hear her no more, but still he saw her shoulders droop in defeat and her hands reach up to hold her face-- guilty and unforgiving of herself. Kakashi tore his eyes away and instead watched the last remnants of the fire die down into embers and ash.

::

"Didja get any sleep last night, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, a few hours," she replied. "The stars were nice out so I stayed up watching them. But don't worry, I'm fully rested."

A lie.

"That's good," Sasuke said. "I know you don't sleep a lot, but at least you got some last night."

"Yeah, it was pretty refreshing."

The lie continued.

She didn't want to worry them, he could tell that much. She also spent all of the night before awake and whispering to that scorpion no matter what time in the night he woke to check up on her. Sakura would be in that same tree on that same branch with the same miserable expression on her face.

A drop of water fell onto his nose.

The skies were slowly turning a cool gray, the clouds heavy with summer's rare showers and the promise of rumbling thunder.

"It's only a light shower, but it'll pour soon. We keep moving until then," Kakashi ordered. Sasuke and Naruto gave their customary 'Yes, sensei', then quickening their pace to get farther along before they had to take shelter. The man was about to follow their move when he saw Sakura standing beside him, idle. Her head was tilted back and her eyes were fixed on the heavens. Horrible loss echoed in every corner of her features.

"Sakura." 

"It... wasn't..." 

He took a step towards her.

"Sakura," he repeated. "We're moving out."

Her eyes dropped to meet his, real confusion and defeat in her stare. She then angrily faced the small puddles forming on the ground. "Sorry, I..." She rubbed her eyes and stalked forward. "Sorry."

Kakashi watched her go knowing fully well that he couldn't put aside what he witnessed. For certain now he knew that there was something not quite right with her. She hid something behind that insufferable attitude of hers-- something that he wasn't sure he wanted to know for himself.

Unbeknownst to him, the scorpion he spotted hours ago clung to the collar of Sakura's shirt and had handed off a small note from someone he would have never guessed.

_ What's wrong? _

Sakura held up a slip of paper for Yori to take and ran a hand through her damp hair.

::

_ It wasn't supposed to rain. _

Sasori lurked about a kilometer away from the genin team in case something went wrong, as it always did. His Akatsuki cloak was replaced with one of black waterproof material equipped with a hanging hood. Orochimaru and Kisame already knew he'd be on extended leave for an uncertain amount of time. A month, perhaps. Maybe longer.

But apparently, it wasn't supposed to rain.

With Hatake Kakashi around, he couldn't get closer than he was already. His range of action was severely limited due to this, leading them to come to the consensus to exchange summons for the time being.

Kou popped up through the front of Sasori's cloak. The top of his furred head bumped against the man's chin as sharp eyes scanned their surroundings. 

"Ugh, the weather's gotten so  _ dreary _ . How uncute," Kou sighed. "So what did Sakura-chan say? Is she in trouble?"

Sasori patted down soft brown fur. "No. For now, at least. The mission she's on is two years earlier than normal and things are bound to be different. Example: Momochi and Haku were the enemies and lost their lives trying to raise money to over overthrow Yagura in the other timeline. Here, Yagura's views have changed and Momochi never defected."

He continued on with the cat hanging from the clasp of his cloak.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Kou questioned. Sasori shook his head and kept moving forward. Before setting off on the mission, Sakura detailed everything she remembered when she took the mission over fifteen years ago.

"We were sent back with the idea that we could change the past. Play Gods. I think you can imagine how irritating things are when you're actually the deity of a world you never knew."

He stopped and pulled out a scope from his back pouch when the group a kilometer away halted. It was something he planned to give Deidara the next time he planned a trip to Iwa, but a few uses before being handed off to its permanent owner wouldn't hurt.

Sasori situated the piece on his right eye and toyed with the buttons to get a better look ahead of him. The  _ Oni Kyodai— _ Demon Brothers—he presumed, had unsuspectingly emerged from one of the various puddles that littered the path.

Kakashi feigned being cut in half, scaring the wits out of Naruto and prompting Sasuke and Sakura into action. The Uchiha took one of the gauntlet wearers, manipulating a chain to his own will and binding him to a nearby tree. The other assailant had the grand misfortune of having Sakura as his enemy. 

She moved quickly and quietly, her movements creating an interval of about three seconds before—

"Sasori-kun?"

He hummed and pressed a few buttons on the scope. "She snapped his neck. Quite a clean kill, even for her."

::

There was something wholly unsettling with watching a student kill a man like she was crushing a roach beneath her shoe. Sakura's form was flawless as she appeared behind her opponent like a cool breeze and swung her leg to slam her heel against the back of his head. As he sailed to the ground, her arms shot out to wrap around his face and neck to twist it to the left.

Dead. Gone. Just like that.

And she didn't even bat an eye. 

Kakashi stepped out from the shadows he hid in and approached Sasuke's attacker first. Gozu, he believed, stared at his twin brother in disbelief after having witnessed the entire murder.

"An ex-Kiri shinobi," Kakashi noted as he tapped the hitai-ate. "Chuunin level, if I'm not mistaken. Did you hope to accomplish something by getting rid of us?"

Gozu tore his gaze away from the prone form of his brother and glared at the jounin dead straight through his pupils. Giving no answer was the greatest weapon to use when there was absolutely no way out of the situation, and Kakashi respected that of him.

"Fine."

When he turned to check on his team, a kunai could be seen protruding from Gozu's stomach. He walked over to Sakura who was knelt by the dead body. She had already taken the liberty of frisking for any hidden weapons or information they could use in the future.

"Not a thing on him. No mission scroll, job offer, identification... but this is Meizu, right? One of the twins who left their village about a year ago," Sakura said. She was given a hardened look from her teacher.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm not deaf or blind," she shrugged. "Meaning I see things and hear things just as well as you do. And it's  _ me  _ you're talking to, Kakashi. Are you really that surprised?"  _ That and the old man gave me an international bingo book not too long ago, but you don't need to know that. _

Now that he thought it over, there wasn't anything too shocking about her knowledge. She had already proved time and time again by displaying what she was capable of. Granted, he still knew nothing about the kid like her true potential, her home life, or the reason she was put into therapy.

"What are we going to do with the bodies?" asked Sakura. "Leave them? Bury them? Burn them?"

A war memory came back to her. It was one she hadn't thought of since the day she was first sent back and it left lingering smoke and ash handprints on her skin that she couldn't wash off.

_ "Fifty-two deaths this week," Shizune informed. "Forty-eight of them unidentified." _

_ "Burn the forty-eight." _

_ "What?! Sakur—" _

_ "We don't have time to bury them, Shizune-senpai," Sakura added on monotonously. "People are being rushed in every day. We have to focus on the ones that are still alive and that still have a chance, not the ones that are already gone." _

_ Shizune stared at her, frozen and wide-eyed. When she made no move to carry out the order, Sakura sighed and rolled up her sleeves. _

_ "Nevermind, then," she said as she walked towards the tent's exit. "I'll burn them myself." _

A flicker of confusion flashed in Kakashi's eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Body burning is normally considered for A-ranks and S-ranks. With what just happened, this mission turned into a high C. Low B, at best. Where did you get the notion of burning?" he questioned. Sakura pressed her lips together and glanced towards Sasori's far off direction. The bastard was probably giddy with her slip up.

"Just a joke, Kakashi. Don't take it seriously," she waved off. She turned as Naruto slowly walked towards her. His eyes were wide and blue, a little fearful as it flickered from his best friend to the dead body on the ground.

"S-Sakura-chan... did you... d-did you kill him?" he croaked. His voice was shaking and quiet—distant, even. And it was breaking Sakura's heart.

"It was us or them. I didn't have a choice."

"But you  _ killed  _ him! They might have been bad guys, but... but... you didn't have to! And you... you did it like it was  _ nothing _ ."

Sasuke stood silent on the sidelines, his face blank.

_ "You did it like it was nothing," Shizune whispered disbelievingly. "Forty-eight people. And you burned all of them without hesitation." _

_ There was no moon in the sky that night. Of the starless horizon and misty midnight backdrop, the only light for miles was the bonfire in the middle of the forest with the scent of blood and burning flesh heavy in the air. _

_ "War is never pretty, senpai. And we can't afford to waste time when the camp's low on medics and our supplies limited." When Sakura turned from the fire, the shadows of unsteady flame danced across her worn face. "Let's get back," she continued solemnly. "We still have our jobs to do." _

"We're shinobi, Naruto," she spoke quietly. There was a small tilt to her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Sometimes, sacrifices need to be made."

"But we didn't have to this time, did we? A-And you killed him so fast and you didn't react to none of it!" he exclaimed. Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. Naruto had a point. There was no way a first kill would be so easily taken, especially when delivered by someone fresh out of the Academy. Then again, she was an early graduated with skills far beyond her rank. The boy gulped. "Sakura-chan... you... he wasn't the first one... was he?"

Sakura exhaled and picked up the pack she dropped when Meizu attacked her. "We'll be late if we keep delaying. It won't look good on Konoha's image," she murmured.

::

Sasori stashed the scope back into his back and ran a hand down his face.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this. If the mission was critical back in our timeline, then something's going to happen here too," he sighed. Kou's tail flickered, brushing against the man's torso.

"You and Sakura-chan have it so hard, nya," the cat purred. "But it doesn't make sense, you know."

"What doesn't?"

"The fact that you two were sent back to change things. I mean, why change something you have no idea about? If the path goes in a different direction, then the destination should change too. Unless it just loops around back to where you should be? Ah~ dimensions and time travel are so tricky and ugly! Your thoughts, Sasori-kun?"

But he'd stopped listening, having been struck with a sudden epiphany. Paths. Destinations. What he and Sakura had been sent back to do in the first place.

Maybe they  _ weren't _ supposed to change a thing.

::

**_A/N: The war flashback with Shizune is and includes the continuation of the one from Chapter 2:_ ** **_5;20_ **

::

**_Clarification on: Mari_ **

Mari is a transvestite and the owner of  _ Magenta _ , a transvestite bar.

A simple definition of transvestite by  _ Merriam-Webster _ : "a person who likes to dress like a person of the opposite sex".

[Link](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transvestite)

::

**EDITED 2/5/18**


	41. Reminder

Sasuke had never been scared of Sakura before. Ever since she threw him onto the ground and knocked his pride back into its place, she was a friend he wouldn't trade for the world. Sakura was tough. Smart. Stubborn. Kind. Invincible.

But she had no reaction to killing that man with her bare hands. Team Kakashi- the students, at least- thought themselves to be a family who were just as close as the ones they had at home. Though when Sasuke thought to their lives outside from being a shinobi, Sakura seemed to know everything about him and Naruto. The same couldn't be said about her.

Her favorite color?

Red.

Her favorite foods?

Mochi and anmitsu.

Her favorite book?

Anything on medicine.

What about her home life? What's it like?

Well, uh...

What does she want to do when she's older?

She never—

Who's her hero? What's her dream? Why does she always look tired? Why's she in therapy?

I d—

What is she afraid of?

_ I DON'T KNOW! _

Sasuke kept walking in the unusually quiet aura of his team. A day had passed since the incident and only now he realized that five years later, Sakura was still a stranger no matter how many times she said she loved them. He glanced back, seeing both her and Kakashi reading their own books as they walked, then sidled up beside Naruto.

"Hey, dobe. You still worried about yesterday?" he asked. Naruto must have been too deep into his thoughts to notice the insult and pursed his lips.

"I'm not worried about nothin'," he mumbled. "Sakura-chan's still Sakura-chan and that's not gonna change. It's... I didn't know she could kill people like that. Didn't you get scared?"

It wasn't that he was afraid of the dead body left to the side of the path. His father drilled the responsibilities and consequences of their profession into him and his older brother from a very young age. Sasuke understood that death was all a part of the job and was as inevitable as the sun rising up every morning. 

But did seeing it in action for the first time scare him?

"A bit," Sasuke admitted with a shrug. "But what can we do about it? It's not like that's the only time she's going to do it."

Naruto ducked his head, nodding slightly. Out of everyone he new, Sakura was on that list of people he'd love for the rest of his life. She was the last person he should've been afraid of. He'd known her for five or six years now and had shown time and time again that she'd stand up for him no matter what. Especially that time when she yelled at their old sensei!

Bottom line, he shouldn't have acted the way he did. Most people didn't like it when others were afraid of them.

Naruto hand clenched the front of his jacket right above his belly button.

He knew that better than anyone else.

::

"What will you do if they start to fear you?"

Sakura turned a page of her book on poisons. "You sure have been a chatterbox since we left the village. What's up with you? Sick and suffering from delusions?"

"Fear," he restated, ignoring her jab, "is a very impractical concept. It makes people shy away from doing what's right and masking what they want to think. I don't know the full extent of your potential, but from what I've seen it's not something to be taking lightly. You're strong."

Her fingers curled around her book's spine. Oh, how long she yearned to hear those two words in the years behind her. She remembered counting her callouses from the hours she spent training on Tsunade's personal sparring grounds, wondering when she'd be seen as one of those who could hold up Konoha on their shoulders.

Finally hearing it left her more sunken than she'd like to admit.

"Aw, was that a compliment?"

He moved his gaze away from his poem anthology and took a good look at her face. She didn't need to force her smile for him to know that she was faking it.

"Do you understand what I've told you?" he questioned instead. Sakura silently snapped her book shut and tucked it away in the pocket on the side of her pack. Her voice came out hushed and tired so her lips wouldn't move and cease to carry over to the boys in front of them.

"I... wasn't always this way," she uttered softly. He, for a split moment, paused. "Back then, the old me had fear as her surname."

The smile was back on her face as she walked further ahead. She didn't need to be told about being afraid when the war solidified her unease, stuffing it into her rib cage with hopes she wouldn't bloody her fingers trying to tear it out. 

Though it made no difference regardless. It didn't matter what she did or what she thought of, she couldn't erase what she had been trying so hard to forget.

And Kakashi? He didn't like it. 

Because she looked just as he did years ago on that stormy night.

_ The house was dark with only lightning illuminating the shadow filled halls. He called out for his father, wondering what he could be doing this late at night. Perhaps his father had gone to check the integrity of their traps to see if the strong winds had managed to shift their positions. But when he saw a crack of an open door and pushed it open to see just what his father had been up to- _

_ There Hatake Sakumo was. On the ground, a kunai still tight in his bloodied grip. _

_ "Tou...san?" _

_ Kakashi did not yell. Or cry. Or breathe. _

_ Because he had wondered just when this would happen. _

He moved his eyes back to his book. God, he hoped that Sakura wouldn't turn out to be someone like him.

::

Their boat lay waiting for them at the tip of an empty pier just where a light fog began extending its fingers towards land. The escort, dressed in normal civilian clothing and armed only with an oar, took one look at their hitai-ates before waving them on.

"Quickly," he urged, "before the weather gets too bad."

Naruto hopped right onto the bow—front and center to see everything that could be seen (or lack thereof)—as the rest of team climbed in more gently, to not rock the boat as the former did. Sakura and Sasuke sat near the edges opposite each other, and Kakashi took the seat closest to the escort that provided him a vantage point to watch over all three of his students.

The escort took no more time and started the motor to start them forward. Ten minutes into the silence and the hum of the machine, it was shut off so the oar would be used instead.

"... It's too foggy," Sasuke said. "You should stop trying to look out, dobe. You won't see a thing."

Naruto scrunched up his face and leaned forward, persevering. The escort kept on rowing as he eyed the unseeable path ahead.

"We'll be able to see the bridge soon. Once we pass the bridge, we'll be in Nami no Kuni."

It took a few moments, but when the monolith of a bridge stuck out above the mist, it was actually quite impressive. It was nearly finished, stretching out for who knows how long. Naruto's eyes shined at the sight.

"IT'S HUGE, DATTEBAYO!"

"K-Kid! Keep it d-down!" the escort exclaimed, albeit quietly. "I was able to sneak this boat out earlier, but we'll be in a mess of trouble if we get caught!"

Naruto slapped his hands over his mouth and shrunk down. Sakura looked away from the water for the first time she got on the boat and glanced up at the escort.

"Trouble?" she asked.

"It would be best that you tell us what's going on before we arrive," Kakashi said. "We were attacked by missing-nin before coming here. And if I'm not mistaken, we're here to guard Tazuna-san as he finishes the bridge we just passed. If we don't get our answer, we don't act out of our contract."

Sakura restrained a huff. He could've phrased it better.

The escort grew nervous, his hands shaking around his oar. "It's... Our village couldn't afford to pay for a higher ranking mission. Everyone pitched in to scrape together all the funds we could, and we jumped at the chance to get two villages for the price of one, even if it was just a C-rank. We need all the help we could get. Tazuna-san... Tazuna-san is being targeted by a monster. If they get him, then they'll come for the rest of us."

Naruto's shoulders tensed as Sasuke perked up. "Monster?"

"A shipping magnate," the escort gulped. "Gato."

"As in the CEO of the Gato Company? One of the richest men in the world?" Sakura questioned. "Makes sense. He's the leader of a shipping company on the surface, dealer of contraband underneath. Does most of his stuff with illegal drugs. Not to mention he tries to monopolize smaller nations and numerous enterprises."

As the escort nodded, Kakashi narrowed his eyes and stared her down. "How do you know that?"

"How you do  _ not _ ?"

"That's not an answer."

"It is. It's yours," she retorted. His eye twitched and she looked back up at the escort. "Continue, please."

"Uh, well... Nami no Kuni caught Gato's attention about a year ago. He used money and murder to push his way in and bought out the country's maritime transportation and shipping before we knew what was happening. He took over our ocean. That gave him control over government, finance, the people... everything."

Sakura listened carefully. It sounded about right.

"But there's one thing that Gato fears, and that's the completion of the bridge," he continued. "See, if it's built, it removes Gato's influence and returns the country's economic stability. Tazuna-san would've gone to Konoha himself for the mission, but it's too dangerous for him to leave now when the bridge is so close to being finished. If you leave the mission, he'll die. And we'll follow right after."

The boat entered a tunnel, the only lights being the old orange ones that flickered on and off along the high ceiling. Sunlight, if Sakura recalled correctly, shone as an arch of promise at the end of the darkness.

"Are we gonna stay for the mission, sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi folded his arms.

"We aren't the only ones slated for it. We'll discuss it with the Kiri nin when we meet up," he said. When the boat left the tunnel, the fog that pervaded the ocean completely disappeared and was replaced with blue skies and still water. The village, as it turned out, was a floating village surrounded by mangrove trees.

Sakura inspected the various places they could land and spotted two figures. The smaller one sat on one of the wooden beams with the taller one standing just off to the side, an enormous sword strapped to his back.

"Oh, the representatives are waiting for us. How nice," she mused.

"Be quiet and stay quiet."

"Wow. Asshole."

Kakashi glared at her, then wiped his expression clean as the boat docked a ways away from the figures. Naruto, just as he'd been the first one onto the boat, was the first one off and looked around with a wide grin. The forests they walked through just to get here got boring after the first day, so it was nice to see a sunny place surrounded by the ocean.

But it was kinda humid.

He spun on his heel and stuck his hand out in front of the lone female of the team.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan! Let’s go start the mission!"

She stared at the offered appendage for a few seconds. What a big heart he had, still reaching out to her even when he saw what she was capable of. The corner of her lips quirked up and she took his hand.

“Yeah.”

::

“Hi!”

Ibiki looked down and blinked. A boy with incredibly pale skin smiled at him, a sketchbook in one hand and a compilation of some sorts in the other. Both were held up for the man to take.

“I know Sakura’s on a mission ‘cause she told me that she was gonna be gone, for like, a month or something like that? She said she was gonna make me some ink made from poison caterpillars! Isn’t that cool? Then after, she said—”

“Kid,” Ibiki interrupted.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. My name’s Shimura Sai!” the boy exclaimed. “Nice to meet you! The sketchbook is something for Sakura. I was gonna wait until she came back, but I didn’t want it to get dirty or lose it or anything so I thought I should leave it with you. You’re her guardian right? That’s what she said. You’re Morino Ibiki right? Oh yeah, and this compilation thing is something ji-san said I should give to Sakura too. I told him that she wasn’t here but then he said that I should just give it to you anyways because it’s only fair that you know about it too. I have no idea what he’s talking about—”

_ Goddamn _ , the kid had a bigger mouth on him than Anko, and that was saying something. Ibiki held both items, taking notice of the note taped on the front of the odd compilation.

_ Haruno Sakura, _

_ Potential of your magnitude would be wasted if you do keep deciding on staying in the Torture and Interrogation Sector. Have you ever thought of that? There is only so much that those three could possibly teach you. _

_ Shiranui Genma, Mitarashi Anko, and Morino Ibiki. _

_ You cannot grow in a place that decided to hide the diamond of your skill. _

He seized up.

_ Our first meeting did not turn into the best of scenarios, but it has assured me that you were bound to be a candidate once you realize how valuable of an asset you can become to the village. Under my jurisdiction, you will flourish and you will succeed. _

_ Do not think that meeting will be our last. _

Ibiki looked back down at Sai, who managed to ramble on about a topic completely unrelated to what they were talking about before. Something about how squirrel tails were unbelievably bushy. He snapped his fingers to catch the boy’s attention.

“Kid, you said this compilation was from your ji-san. Who’s he?”

God, he hoped it wasn’t that man. Anyone but that reprehensible louse who caused nothing but trouble with his ROOT faction.

“My ji-san? Uh, Councilman Danzo. I mean, I think he’s one of the council members. He never really tells me about his job.”

Ibiki hastily ripped the note off and read the title of whatever Danzo decided to give his ward.

_ The Compendium of Forbidden Jutsu _

He grit his teeth.

::

Kakashi was still blank faced when the representatives met up with them on the dock. Zabuza gave off a fine aura of intimidation dressed in his Kirigakure flak jacket, bandages covering the bottom half of his face and hanging loosely around his shoulders. Haku was also completely different than from what Sakura remembered, of course, because of the two year gap and circumstances between the meetings. He had on a short blue kimono and a dark grey split skirt, his black hair brushing against his collarbone.

“Hatake,” Zabuza greeted tonelessly.

“Momochi,” Kakashi returned.

The jounin stared at each other, distrust obvious and the air around them culminating with tension. Naruto, oblivious to the fact that two previously warring countries depended on the outcome of this mission to see if a peace treaty would arise, stepped up to Haku and saluted.

“I’m Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! And you look very pretty—”

Sasuke elbowed him. “You know he’s a guy, right?”

“—handsome! Very pretty handsome!” he grinned. His tanned cheeks flushed red at the blunder, but dimmed when the other genin let out a laugh and a good-natured smile.

“Thank you, Naruto-san. I’m Haku. And your teammates…?”

“Uchiha Sasuke,” the one to Naruto’s left grunted. The one on the right was a little more exuberant than her grump of a friend and little more mellow than the knucklehead at her side, but faltered when she saw his brown eyes glimmer with soft excitement.

“Haruno Sakura,” she introduced, a bit distantly. “I hope we’ll have a good mission together.”

::

Sakura was falling apart on the inside.

How could she be thinking that way? Haku was different from  _ her _ . His age was different, his hair was different, his stature was different, his eye color was different-

But his eyes! They were the same! They were the same as the muted green she would catch glimpses of every now and again in the last years of the war. They were kind, full of hope, open-

_ Why? _

Why was her mind betraying her like this? Why did seeing Haku strike up painful reminders of those she let down? Why did he bring forth her need to protect that someone she would never see again?

_ Why do you have her eyes? _

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek and glanced away to hear what Kakashi and Zabuza had to say, but her mind remained adrift.

_ Why do you have Sachiko’s eyes? _

::

**EDITED 2/8/18**


	42. Development

"What game are you playing?"

Danzo slowed his walk from the Hokage's office and half turned to glance at the call from behind him. Ibiki stood with a sheet of paper crumpled in his angry fist. When the councilman said nothing, he took another step forward.

"I don't know where your interest in Sakura came up, but I'm warning you right now that it's not going to do you any good. She won't take an interest in ROOT or consider it for a second. She knows perfectly well what type of people you churn out and she won't let herself stoop that low."

The older man smirked. "We'll see, Morino," he said. "And if I were you, I would fix that insolent tone of yours. I may not be in a magnanimous mood next time."

He turned back forwards and started his leave, his cane clacking on the floors with equally separated intervals. Ibiki gripped the note harder. "Forbidden jutsu or not, she won't turn into Tsunade."

Danzo didn't stop his retreat. "As I said, we'll see."

::

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours of which were actually seconds filled with an intense and distrusting air. Both instructors were ANBU turned jounin, taking on disciples for the first time in their careers and slowly adjusting to what it was like to look after others besides themselves. But, each had their own tumultuous reputations at their backs. Zabuza with his position as one of the Seven Swordsman and his success in slaughtering his classmates for graduation; Kakashi with his running streak of 327 B-Rank missions where he came out unscathed and his mastery of his lightning jutsu.

They were never  _ meant  _ to get along.

"You know, Kakashi, now would be a good time for you to start making friends. Did you forget what kind of mission this was or do I need to read you the intro of  _ How to be a Good Diplomat: Idiot Edition _ like I did before we left?"

There was a snort from the black-haired boy and a snicker from the blond one. The girl, with the most absurd hair Zabuza had ever seen, flashed a cheeky grin at her sensei despite the irritated glare he cast her way.

"I told you to be quiet."

"And I think it's reasonable to assume that I never listen to a word you say," she returned. She looked up at the taller man. "Speaking of diplomacy, you probably should talk to me about that stuff because Kakashi doesn't like people."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan's a great speaker! And she's really smart, dattebayo!" Naruto vouched. Kakashi's left eye began to twitch as he crossed his arms and kept the straightest face he could master.

"You're aware of how the mission was compromised, I'm assuming," he said. He was doing a fantastic job of ignoring his entertaining genin, Zabuza noted with a raised brow.

"We were attacked by ex-Kusa-nin before our arrival yesterday. They had no useful information on them and were disposed of. Yourself?" the Kiri shinobi asked.

"Ambushed by the Demon Brothers. Both were taken care of: Gozu by a kunai through the stomach and Meizu by snapping his neck," Kakashi informed. He unintentionally lowered his voice when he spoke the last part, causing Zabuza's eyebrow to travel a bit higher. "We can talk about the rest of it once we meet up with the client, but the mission does breach what's detailed in the contract. If you aren't willing to stay, we aren't either."

Zabuza glanced at his student. Haku's reply was a hopeful, wide-eyed stare that simply couldn't be said no to. "... We'll stay. By the looks of it, the country isn't getting the help it needs."

"Awesome!!" Naruto exclaimed. He punched a fist into the air. "We get to stay! Let's go, let's go, let's go—that Taganu can't wait for us forever!"

"Tazuna," Sasuke corrected. His friend paid him no mind.

"We found his house when we got here, but decided to wait until you guys got here. His house is on the other end of this platform. I can lead you there," Haku said. Sakura gestured forward with a wide grin, all traces of her earlier discomfort hidden beneath her happy facade.

"Lead the way!"

As the four of them walked off, chatting cheerfully amongst each other, Zabuza slowly turned to the only one left on the dock. "Your team is certainly... eccentric."

"If Sakura ends up dead, I take full responsibility," Kakashi deadpanned. He strode towards the genin, completely suppressing the need to trap the girl in a headlock and tossing her into the ocean. It wouldn't be proper and certainly wouldn't reflect his professional status. One could dream, though.

With a shift of the kubikiribocho against his back, Zabuza followed at a slower pace.

Yes. Eccentric was the right word to use.

::

A Clans of Konoha meeting was being held in one of the conference rooms in the Hokage Tower. In secret, as always, and filled with the council members and the heads of all nine influential clans: the Aburame, Akimichi, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Nara, Sarutobi, Shimura, Uchiha, and Yamanaka.

There used to be fourteen seats to be filled, but the five unused ones only occurred due to certain circumstances. The Kohaku and Kurama clans never attended due to their dwindling size and their stations near the borders, the Uzumaki were desolate (save for Naruto, but his situation was trickier than most), the Senju were so dispersed that there were no known direct descendants (Tsunade was another case that was rarely discussed), and the current head of the Hatake refused to return after what happened with his father.

So it left twelve people in total. And among these twelve people, items of particular interest were necessary to be reviewed here and were not allowed to be spoken to others outside those in the current forum.

ROOT was one of those items.

Whoever was considered for a position in the organization underwent review and had to get approval of 7/12 of the members in order to join.

"I don't have a list of candidates at this time," Danzo said, being both the Shimura representative and a councilman. "I only have one in mind. The one I have chosen already knows of the interest I have set and has refused the offer. For now. Her future has yet to be decided."

Utatane Koharu, the only councilwoman, turned to him. "Her name?"

Danzo looked all around the table, preparing to gauge the reactions. "Haruno Sakura."

Nine pairs of eyes sharpened immediately.

::

Meeting Tazuna went better than the first time around. Turns out he was the same drunk old man from Sakura's previous timeline who lived with his sweet daughter, Tsunami, and his surprisingly enthusiastic grandson, Inari. Sakura kept her antics down a bit when they introduced themselves while trying to figure out why Inari wasn't the same bratty kid as before.

Everything was advanced two years. Why hadn't this?

As she contemplated the difference, sat between Sasuke and Haku, her eyes flickered up to a picture frame that hung proudly on the wall. Tazuna was smiling on the left, Tsunami laughing on the right, Inari grinning in the middle... and a man standing behind them all, tousling the boy's already messy brown hair.

"Kaa-san!" six year old Inari called out, finally looking away from staring up at the shinobi in awe. "When's tou-san getting back?"

"Kaiza said his fishing trip would take a while. Maybe by dinner?"

Sakura subtly slid her hand to the top of her pocket and tapped the scorpion with a short message in a revised morse code that only she and Sasori knew.

_ There's something I can change. _

"Sakura."

She looked up at Kakashi.

"Did you listen to a word that was said?"

"Nope," she grinned. She pointed to Sasuke. "A fifteen word or less summary, please."

"Tazuna-san works tomorrow. Today's free. Tree climbing exercise. You and Haku-san are excused," he complied before taking a sip of tea. Sasuke wasn't always one for too many words anyways and Naruto had selective hearing, so their system worked out well. Kakashi was exasperated, of course, but Haku looked positively amused.

"If that's all, then I'm going into the forest to find those caterpillars," she informed as she stood. She met Haku's eyes—hopeful and full of love. She averted her gaze. "Wanna come with me? I can teach you how to catch them."

Haku brightened. "I'd love to, Sakura-san!"

He looked at Zabuza, who gave the barest dip of his head, before following after the younger girl with a radiant smile. Inari watched them go with pink-tinted cheeks.

"I like Sakura-san. She's funny," he said. Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please don't encourage her."

::

"That's... probably not good."

"What's the matter, Sasori-kun?"

He had to be extra careful when the genin team landed in the corruption that was Nami no Kuni. With both Zabuza and Kakashi to watch out for, he had to keep careful control of his chakra to make sure he wouldn't be discovered.

He was given a small break when Sakura removed herself from everyone else's general vicinity, taking the Kiri genin with her to gather those poison caterpillars. He watched her interact with the boy—Haku?—in the forests a little ways away from the lake and river system.

She looked... oddly disconcerted but happy enough to have him around. Near the beginning, she made subtle motions in avoiding meeting Haku's gaze, but kept a normal demeanor in directing him what to look for in the caterpillar and what to do if he found any. As time passed and their time together neared an hour, Sakura began smiling more and gaining some genuine happiness.

"Do you see anything weird in the way she's acting?" Sasori asked. Kou poked his head up over his shoulder from his spot nestled in the hood. The cat cocked his head and hummed.

"Sakura-chan looks positively elated. Doesn't look like a bad thing, if you ask me, nya."

"It's not bad that she's happy. What's bad is the  _ reason  _ behind her current happiness," Sasori sighed. "Believe me, the last thing I want to do is take it away from her, but she's displacing her feelings."

Displacement was a defense mechanism. Simply put, it shifted a person's actions towards a target to a substitute target if for some reason, access to the intended target was unavailable. The mechanism was normally meant to let out pent-up feelings when a person was barred from doing it elsewhere. Examples include cases where a husband who might direct his anger at his wife because he's furious at his boss, or when a woman is so ecstatic at winning the lottery that she kisses the nearest person she sees.

It could be used for any emotion on the spectrum.

"Displa... oh."

Sakura spared a cursory glance towards the treeline before giving the glass box to Haku, which was filled with seven or eight of the spiked insects. "Can you take this to Tazuna-san's for me? There's a couple of things I need to take care of before heading back."

"Of course, Sakura-san!" he smiled. "Where do you want me to put it? With the rest of your things?"

"Anywhere Naruto won't see it. It doesn't matter how many times you tell him to not to do something 'cause he'll do it anyways. I always have to keep an eye on him, especially after what happened at the waterfall—did I ever say anything about that?"

Haku leaned closer to her. "Is it worse than the potato incident?"

"Nothing's worse than the potato incident."

The clearing rang out with their joined laughter and she reached up to ruffle up his black hair. He waved and walked down the path they first arrived on, leaving her to stand in silence until he was far from any sort of awareness. She leaned against a tree.

"Glad to see you haven't been detected. I'm surprised you even made it this far."

"Yes, because I'm obviously nowhere near S-rank level, have less than thirty years of experience to brag about, and never took out an entire nation single-handedly, armed with only the Sandaime," he drawled from his perch on the branch above. Sakura scrunched her nose.

"Alright, sarcastic, no need to brag. And hi, Kou-chan."

The cat popped up from the hood. "Good afternoon, dearest!" he exclaimed, then snuggled back into the warm cloth. It just felt so nice against his wonderfully sleek fur. After all, he deserved the comfort after painstakingly tagging along on the journey right after Itachi  _ so lovingly- _ without being coerced whatsoever—brushed his coat of bistre brown.

When Sakura looked back to Sasori, she saw the concern floating warily in his eyes. She turned away.

"... The more you do it, the more it's going to hurt you in the end," he said, voice softer than the cotton cloths she kept in her medicinal pack. "He's not her."

"I can't help it, Sasori. He just..."

"I know."

"I've...  _ for so long _ ..."

"I know."

Sakura steadied herself against the tree as she tried her hardest to keep any tears from dripping down her face. "He has her eyes," she whispered. His lips formed a sullen line. He hoped the mission wouldn't dare deepen the wounds she already had to live with.

::

Shibi stood outside the conference room a bit after the meeting ended, hands in the pockets of his tan coat and his mind lingering back to what just transpired. Danzo had thrown them all into a loop saying that he wanted Sakura in his ranks. It was no secret that the clan heads knew her personally considering that all their kids were in the same group of friends.

He was never one to really pay attention during these Clans of Konoha meetings because of their boring, monotonous nature. But the ROOT thing nearly caught him off guard and made him disagree with the decision right off the bat. Shino was already lonely, having lost Torune to the tight-lipped, time-consuming nature of the job, and he wasn't about to allow another one of his closest friends to be taken to the organization.

ROOT made people...  _ lose  _ their emotions. He didn't want that for her.

Inoichi had been another one to reject the proposal immediately. When questioned by Mitokado Homura, the third and final of the council, his face grew stony.

_ "My reasons fall under patient confidentiality. I'm not allowed to say." _

_ That  _ sent questioning murmurs through everyone and left the matter to be officially decided in next month's session. 

Shibi had a feeling there was something off about her from the very beginning, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Though one thing he knew for sure was that she was forthright and had her moral compass worn on her shoulder.

Danzo had no reason to bring her in.

"Sticking around for something, Aburame-san?"

He shifted his glasses, the red tassel wriggling a bit. "I just had a question, Danzo-sama," he said. The councilman made a motion for him to continue. "I'm interested in why you find Sakura so intriguing. I understand that she's more advanced that her peers and that she's different than most, but she doesn't fit—"

"—the mold. I'm aware. But there was something I wanted to test."

"... Test?"

Danzo's normally impassive face twisted into something darker. Something that Shibi felt that he should've expected from such a foul man, but was still uncomfortable in witnessing. "I wanted to see how far 'faulty electric wiring' and 'malfunctioned heating units’ drove a person. She has managed to catch my attention for far longer than you all are possibly imagining," he said. Shibi's eyebrows knit as the older man took his leave.

What did broken household commodities have to do with anything?

::

**EDITED 2/8/18**


	43. Mirror

Kaiza was a good man.

After he came back home the day the shinobi arrived, he greeted them all with a chipper attitude and utmost respect for them willing to stay and protect Tazuna as well as the rest of the people. When asked what he thought of Gato and his reign, his response had been that their fishing village had to find the courage to stand up on both their feet and fight back.

"I know everyone's scared of him, but I won't let that get me down," he'd said. "Until they find that something to help them stand up for themselves, I'll be there to do that for them! I'll protect this town with these arms!"

Sakura was curious. Sasuke was impressed. Haku was amazed. Naruto had stars in his eyes. Though Kakashi and Zabuza had no reaction to his strong proclamation. There was always the one person who first rose to lead the change, and Kaiza happened to be one of them.

So for the first six days of the official start of the Konoha-Kiri joint mission, the shinobi had settled into a routine. Kakashi and Zabuza would take a rotation of three genin everyday for simple practices and exercises. Whichever jounin and single genin not in the rotation would accompany Tazuna and his workers on the bridge.

On the seventh day of the mission, a slightly humid Tuesday, Zabuza and Sakura stationed themselves on the railing closest to the unfinished side of the bridge, being the ones out of rotation this time around.

"Hey, Momochi. I have a question."

He glanced at the girl to his left. It didn't take him long to realize that Kakashi's exasperation of her was not unfounded. Haruno Sakura was cheeky, blunt, and had an enormous problem of not using honorifics when needed. At least she used _some_ respect in speaking with him compared to her first name usage with her teacher.

"What?"

"I'm not going to beat around the bush here. You're one of the Seven Swordsman and Kiri's huge on weapon making. I need a top-notch double kodachi. And when I say top-notch, I mean _top-notch_. Meaning, spring steel—probably the 5160 over the 9260—or tool steels like the L6 Bainite or S7 Shock. And none of that folded steel. I've heard those aren't as durable as a shinobi would like," she said. Zabuza straightened. "I'll take any price as long as the kodachi turns out well."

Not to mention the girl was also way too intelligent for a genin. He was positive steel types were never taught in any sort of Academy setting, and he had to internally applaud her for the ones she mentioned. The 5160 spring steel had critically important heat treatment stages and were rumored to take off animal heads with a single slice from a civilian hand. The 9260 spring steel held a reputation for durability and being able to be molded back to its original form even from being bent at a 90 degree angle.

L6 Bainites could be called the toughest steels on the market, but were prone to rusting and had to be particularly taken care of. The same properties could be said about the S7 Shocks', being tough and damage resistant, but they were even rarer than L6 Bainites and were hardly put out onto the production lines.

And those were just the properties without them being modified by chakra or jutsu.

"I didn't take you for the type to be interested in swordsmanship."

"I do have a small thing with them, as you can see—" Sakura flicked her hand to extend one of her wrist blades, let him observe them for a few moments, then retracted it. "—but the kodachi isn't for me. I've got a friend requesting the best of the best for a gift. Just trying to help in any way I can."

"A damn expensive gift," Zabuza snorted. She shrugged.

"They can be over the top when they want to be."

Their day went without much to worry about. Sakura loved small talk and used it to fill in the time spent lazily keeping an eye out for the bridge builders. Inari even managed to come by to hand-deliver the lunch his mother made for the both of them.

"Good afternoon, Inari-kun!" she greeted. He blushed. "Tell Tsunami-san we said thank you, alright?"

"Okay!"

Before he turned to leave, Zabuza called out to him. "Wait. Kaiza said he had something to show us today. Is he back yet?"

At the sight of Inari's tilted head and pursed lips, Sakura began to pay extra attention to him. For the days she spent in the country, they would take hours formulating different scenarios and instances of whether or not he was going to die in this world or not. For his family's sake, she would take any measures to ensure his safety.

"It's weird 'cause tou-san hasn't come home, but kaa-san says he's really busy so we shouldn't worry. He'll come back safe and sound, like always."

The two exchanged glances.

"Make sure you make it home safe!" she said. Inari cheerfully waved in return as he ran back. There was quiet between the both of them for a moment before she opened the top of the bento and broke apart her pair of chopsticks.

"When do the builders finish up today?"

Zabuza undid the bandage wrappings over his face. "In a couple of hours. We'll tell Tazuna that we'll be a little late in meeting up with everyone else. Will Hatake be fine with you taking a detour?"

Sakura scoffed. "Like I've said many times before: he's going to have to deal with it."

::

"I. HATE. EVERY. THING. DA. TTE. BA. YO."

"Naru—"

"I'M DRINKIN' SO MUCH OF THE WATER THAT I SWEAR I'M GONNA BE PISSIN' SALT FOR A WHOLE YEAR! JUST SALT!"

"Dobe, I swear to—"

"I'M GONNA KILL THE OCEAN! I'M GONNA KILL THE WHOLE DAMN THING!"

Naruto's sopping wet jacket and pants were piled along with Sasuke's shirt at the edge of the dock they decided to train at. Haku sat cross-legged leaning against a wooden beam with a towel draped across his shoulders. He was able to achieve water walking after two hours had passed and was allowed to rest and spectate the failure of the other two.

They were... frustrated, to say the least.

"The chances of you killing the ocean are the same as you not being an idiot," Sasuke hissed. "Never going to happen. Now _shut up_ , your stupid voice is ruining my concentration."

"Concentration? HA! Is that why you look so constipated?!"

"Dobe!"

Kakashi turned a page of his book.

::

Construction ended at about seven once it began to get harder to see the work in the light of the setting sun. After making sure Tazuna made it home without trouble, Zabuza and Sakura took to scouting the streets from the shadows.

The poverty they could see was nearly unbearable. Children sat huddled at street corners, dirtied with a battered cup stationed in front of them with low hopes that someone somewhere would help them. Men were hanging around doors, holding grim acceptance that they were going to die under the reign of an iron fist. Women were walking the streets in the highest heels they could find, more than likely with the aim to earn money the only way it seemed possible for people of their likes.

"Gato's a little shit," Sakura huffed. She and Zabuza were crouched behind a roof to scan the streets below. "These people are miserable. Kaiza-san and his family look like the only ones who still know how to be happy."

"That's why they're the ones on Gato's list. Can't have someone that inspires people when you want to kill a whole country," Zabuza replied. They moved from the streets to the more secluded area of the town where all shipping and packaging of products were managed. By this time, all plants should've been closed due to the work curfew Gato imposed on the people.

But one of them had three armed men standing outside the entrance.

Sakura dropped down first, knocking two of them out with the blow to the head and elbowing the third's face while breaking his nose. Zabuza appeared beside her.

"I doubt you're a genin."

"I'll take that as one of the many compliments Kakashi has failed to admit giving me."

He snorted quietly as he opened the iron door and peered inside. Even with the towering boxes stacked all over the building, the soft lantern glow gave all visibility to what was happening on the warehouse floor. Mercenaries of all shapes and sizes, samurai and shinobi alike, created a ring around the center of the open space.

Kaiza was knelt on the ground, welts and cuts over his body as he carried a slender log on his back that kept his arms stretched and tied. His assaulter struck him with a bamboo stick as Gato watched with a disgusting smile on his face.

"I heard you were going to protect this town with those arm of yours," Gato smirked. "That's what you said, right?"

Kaiza didn't speak.

"Fine. If that's how it's going to be, then I'd like to see you try," he grinned. He jerked his chin and motioned two of his lackeys forward. They were the biggest ones in the warehouse with each one holding gigantic wooden mallets poised to destroy both Kaiza's arms.

But just as they were to deal the blow, all the lights went out.

::

8:56 pm.

Still, nearly two hours from when they were due back, Zabuza and Sakura had yet to return.

Naruto stationed himself at the window, his eyes glued to the darkness outside with worry and a pinch of curiosity for where his best friend could've disappeared to. Sasuke and Haku were a little less concerned at the problem, them sitting at the table with cups of cooling tea sat in front of them.

Kakashi?

He stood on the roof of the house with both his black eyes peeled for any sign of them. Thirty minutes from when they were due back, he wouldn't have been worried. He imagined Sakura would have gone on some short adventure to save another wounded animal or help one of the kids on the streets. He couldn't put it past her.

But, she was aware of the gravity of the situation. The mission was vital to Konoha's political relations and she wouldn't screw around with that even for the sake of her strange quirks. He turned at the sight of Zabuza abruptly appearing beside him with an unconscious body on his back.

"Momochi. Report."

"Kaiza was tortured in one of the warehouses at the west end. Gato was to have both his arms disabled, then hold a public execution for him tomorrow morning. We got there before anything went down," Zabuza said, shifting the man against his swordless back. "I gotta say, your kunoichi ain't half bad. Saw her kill a guy by jamming one of her wrist blades through his eye socket on our way out."

Wrist blades?

"And just _where_ exactly is she?"

"Here!" a new voice chirped. Sakura stepped out of a cloud of smoke on the other side of her teacher. "Sorry I didn't catch up, Momochi. I listened in on more of their plans. Gato's pissed, of course, and he's gathering all his men to storm the bridge on Monday. On the same day, he's sending two mercenaries to eliminate Tazuna's whole family."

She looked relatively unharmed save for the shredded bandages on her right arm and a small rip on the hem of her shirt. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he spotted dark lines etched into the bicep she always kept hidden, but held his tongue and moved his attention to Kaiza.

"Do you know where Kaiza-san can get the medical attention he needs?"

"Haku could probably clean him up a bit and dress his wounds. Nothing too serious as far as I can tell," the Kiri-nin replied. "I'll head into the house. And clean those blades, girl. A rusty weapon won't do you any good."

Sakura was about to deliver one of her cheeky retorts but stopped when Kakashi rounded on her with the stormy eyes he had when they first met. She held her hands up in defense. "Yeah, yeah, I know. _'Sakura, why didn't you inform me of your whereabouts?'_ Because Inari-kun said his tou-san wasn't back yet and we were suspicious. Nothing happened. _'I didn't give you permission.'_ He could've died! Can you get off my back? I'm okay! _'You're in trouble regardless because I can't have one of my cute little genin risking their life because I care about them so much even if I'm too much of an asshole to admit it.'_ That's how this conversation would've gone, right?"

She was smiling, but Kakashi didn't feel the need to reciprocate the act. She had once again insulted him by her horrible rendition of mimicking his voice and insinuating that he secretly cared for the lot of them. He didn't. He was just worried. He didn't like the thought of her not following his orders and going off on her own accord to possibly get herself killed.

He had been just like her when he was younger. And being reckless cost him...

He sighed. "Don't do it again. Next time, there will be consequences. Now you said that Gato planned to attack on Monday?"

::

The only sounds in the office was the scritch-scratch of pen on wood and the the occasional thud of metal into a wall. Genma, after marveling over his art of a duck made of senbon, turned over on the couch and pouted. "It's only been a little over a week and I'm already starting to miss the brat. It's real quiet without her here."

Ibiki set down his pen. "She'll be back at the end of the month. Then you can whine to her and stop complaining to me."

"Don't give me that, Morino. I bet you miss her just as much as I do."

"Hardly."

He didn't look up from the stack of papers in front of him. In all actuality, he was too busy with things besides work to dawdle on things like missing his ward. He had compiled a list of all missions Danzo distributed over the last six years, looking for even one that might have anything to do with Sakura.

ROOT being all up in her business was something he never wanted to happen, and he wasn't about to let that slide now.

"I talked to Kinoe today," Genma said. Ibiki finally glanced up from his endeavor. The experiment that lived? "I asked about any weird instances that might've crossed his mind, and he said something strange went down about a year ago. Danzo talked about recruitment possibility _with_ the candidate _at_ HQ."

Ibiki straightened. No one outside the organization got to see the inside of the place without being killed right after. He pressed his fingers into his forehead to try and obviate his oncoming headache. "Tell me she didn't."

"I would, but I'd be lying."

He withheld a prolonged sigh and returned to reading through the mission reports. It wouldn't be too hard to gather more of those classified mission reports. After all, being head of T&I wasn't his only job in Konoha.

::

Sakura stretched her arms over her head. This was the day Gato's men would swarm the bridge, and she swore to herself that both Zabuza and Haku would get out alive and in one piece. They hadn't exactly been informed by the jounin the plan they were going to carry out, but it definitely would have to be better than what took place in the other timeline.

As she situated her kunai pouch against her thigh and adjusted her wrist blades, she felt several chakra signatures leaving the house as one of the stronger ones stepped into the room.

"We're heading out?"

Kakashi closed the door behind him. "I sent Naruto and Sasuke along with Momochi and Haku-san to scope out the place early," he said. Sakura paused, suspicion rising in her bones. "There's something I need to speak to you about before we engage with Gato's men."

No.

"Kakashi, I hope you're not doing what I think you're doing..."

He wouldn't _dare_.

"You're staying behind to keep Tsunami-san, Kaiza-san, and Inari safe. The likelihood of Gato sending his personal bodyguards, Zori and Waraji, are high if he's dispatching all his men to the bridge. You have—"

"Are you shitting me?! You guys need me there!" Sakura exclaimed. Her eyes blazed with a fire she never before directed at her teacher—not now, and not in the life behind her. Kakashi shifted slightly backwards with the surprise of her outburst.

"Momochi and I agreed that this course of action is for the best," he tried to conciliate. "We need all the people we can have out there to fight, but we can't help all the people when the rest of Tazuna's family is being targeted. They need all the help they can get, especially since Kaiza-san still can't move around with all his injuries. You're the only one skilled enough to handle them without assistance."

She didn't know what was worse: having her past repeat itself or the reason behind them doing this to her again.

"I can leave a clone here and go with you guys!"

"Sakura, that won't—"

"You said it yourself! I'm already strong and you're damn well aware that you don't even know half of what I'm capable of!"

"Sa—"

"I can help you against Gato and his men! There's over _eighty_ of them and only two coming here! You're asking me to wait for these assholes to come, and who says how long they'll take to get here? One hour? Six hours? Chances are by the time I get to the bridge, Naruto and Sasuke are well on their way to their graves because you don't know _what the hell you're doing_!"

Something inside Kakashi snapped. “Just do as you're told," he hissed. Sakura glared at him.

"The hell I will! I'm a part of this team and I'm a part of this mission—I think it's a little late for you to start coddling me! You saw me kill Meizu and now you're worried about me getting to trouble? I'm not the one you're supposed to be concerned about! Naruto and Sasuke—"

"—are under my watch so you should focus on the task you've been given," he growled. "God, for once in your time as my student, would you just listen to me?!"

Incredulous, her fingers curled into fists and she spoke in a softer but nonetheless angry tone. "Why are you doing this?"

He crossed his arms. "Me needing to explain myself is the last thing you need to bother with. Go find Inari and his parents and protect them."

Then, beyond all his expectations, her seething gaze tore away from his as she turned and stalked out of the room without another word. Kakashi let his shoulders drop at her departure as he unlatched the window and made his exit from there.

Haruno Sakura was the type to be reckless on the battlefield. He saw it in their D-rank missions—her quick thinking in saving her friends, her attack on the client that abused his son, her disregard for authority, her absolute selflessness, and most recently in her remorseless murder of missing-nin Meizu.

She was a shinobi quick to act on her emotions and morality. If it came down to it, she would always pick the other person and never herself.

So why was he doing this?

He already lost Rin on her account to save her teammates.

He wasn't about to let that play over a second time.

::

"Are you upset, Sakura-san?"

She stepped away from peering out the window and regarded the little boy with a small smile. Fourteen minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, she was still stuck in the house doing nothing and being attacked by no one.

"It's nothing," she answered as she patted his head. "Just waiting for those mercenaries to show up. You should go back and stay in that room with your parents. It's dangerous."

"But... But you sounded really angry when Hatake-san was here. I heard you yelling. Did you guys get into a fight?"

Sakura gently pushed him in the direction of the safe room. "Don't worry your little head over it, Inari-kun. It'll all be over soon.”

He reluctantly nodded before trotting back to where Kaiza and Tsunami were. She must've been more than enraged with that whole fiasco with Kakashi sixteen minutes and three seconds ago for it to ring throughout the house, but her fury refused to recede to where it should stay and lay dormant.

Though it had been years since she strove to become a better person. Despite the war. Despite _everything_.

But it all doesn't matter, does it?

No matter how strong she'd get, she would always end up getting left behind.

"Frowns like that are so unbecoming of you. Did you know that? I'd very much prefer that look you have when you yank my chain—literally. Remember when you did that when you and Chiyo-baa-chan fought against me? Good times."

Sakura spun around. There, sprawled out at the low table in the kitchen, was a cheeky looking Sasori in all his glory.

"Of all the stupid—there are people in here that can't know you're here!" she whisper-yelled. He pouted and tapped the back of his hood so that Kou would crawl out.

"Oh, I see how it is. No 'Nice to see you's or 'How was your day's to the person who accompanied you all this way from the good of his heart. It's not like I put up a small genjutsu over that family so that they don't leave the room like a decent S-Class criminal would," he huffed. "By the way, what are you doing cooped up in here? I saw the next Great Shinobi World War about to start at that bridge and you weren't there."

She grit her teeth. "Kakashi ordered me to stay here and protect Inari-kun's family from the mercenaries sent to get them."

His eyebrows rose. "And you listened?"

"We had a falling out. If I leave, Inari-kun's family dies. If I stay, Sasuke might get a repeat of his near-death experience and Zabuza and Haku might really perish for sure. So Kakashi really struck me with a lose/lose situation. And get this. His reason for doing it is because I'm strong," she grumbled. Sasori couldn't stop the downward tilt to his lips. What a bullshit reason.

"Well, it doesn't matter what he thinks. What he didn't account for was that there would be a small loophole in his plans. If he wants a real person in the house to protect this family, then he'll get one."

Sakura looked at him with some confusion, but it dropped at his hands flew into three familiar seals: dog-boar-ram. There was a small cloud of smoke that dissipated into an exact copy of herself, save for the half-lidded stare and the ever amused smirk.

"You'd... protect them?" she questioned. "For me?"

He grinned and made a shooing motion with his hands.

"Let's say you're one of those special cases. Now get outta here and wipe that dumb smile off your face, your team can't wait around for their knight in shining armor forever."

She hurried over to the door and practically jumped into her sandals. "I'll make it up to you! I promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Just focus on coming back in one piece!"

::

This was going to be the end of him. Sasuke was fully accepting of it.

Gato's men didn't exactly add up to eighty or even ninety like they'd expected. The number could easily be estimated to be in the higher one hundreds, lower two hundreds, and he could effectively say that they were screwed.

The good side was that the thugs didn't have too much skill over them as genin and were chuunin, low jounin at best, so fights were just a tad under fair. The bad side was that the fights were completely _unfair_ in the regard that they were being swarmed and were on the losing end because of it.

Him, Naruto, and Haku had been ordered to stick together to increase the chance of them bringing down enemies and lowering the possibility of being caught off guard or injured. Again, there was the good side and the bad side. The good part was that Haku had incredible ice abilities and that they all pretty much had off the chart stamina.

The bad part was that Sakura wasn't there to help them.

"We're so dead," Naruto moaned as he punched a thug in the head. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up. There's too many!"

Haku produced some senbon and shot them as he kicked in the chest of someone that tried to sneak up on him from behind. "We have to keep trying, Naruto-san! We can't let ou—"

He stopped short when a thug managed to grab hold of his neck. Sasuke sprung into action and flung a couple of shuriken and knocking him to the ground. Haku gave him a quick nod.

"Thank you."

"No pr—"

"SASUKE! LOOK OUT!"

A sword slashed downward from above him, a sure dead hit to split him from his temple to his navel. The glinting silver of the blade reflected the black depths of his eyes, showing him an abyss that had no light to save him.

So. Was this how he was going to die?

"Oi! Better move those feet unless you want to become Ino's next home-cooked disaster!" a voice crowed giddily from above. Before they knew it, a foot came swinging down to smash the sword wielder's face into the concrete ground. "CHA!"

Naruto whipped his neck to the right. "Sakura-chan!" he cried. "You came! You really came!!"

She flashed him a grin and flicked both her wrists so that her blades made themselves known. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

In the far distance, Kakashi punted one of his assailants over the railing as he spun to check up on the genin. Not very surprised but upset all the same, he watched Sakura make a mad dash in his direction, cutting down those who stood in her way.

She landed beside him.

"I told you to stay back," he intoned. "And I doubt the mercenaries had come to fulfill their mission. What happened to Tazuna's family?"

Lightning ignited his hand as he jabbed it through one of the men. Sakura scoffed and decapitated the nearest of the thugs.

"I know you think lowly of me, but cut me some slack. They're the safest they could ever be without me having to be there," she spat. She dropped onto her hands and spun around to catch a few of the thugs in a chakra-induced whirlwind kick before popping back up and reaching behind her to pull out a man's throat. "I hate it when people doubt me."

Kakashi turned away to shield the aghast look in his eyes. Four people dead in less than two minutes, half of them with their blood splattered all over her apparel. "I'll deal with you later. Stay with the other genin."

Once he got back to Konoha, he was going to read her file. And maybe... maybe push through with the decision he came to weeks ago.

"So she did come through, huh?"

He avoided a punch to the face and ignored Zabuza's comment. The man shook his head. "Fucking Hatake."

::

"Yo, Morino. Is the A/C on in here?"

"No. Why?"

"I dunno. I'm getting goosebumps—can you feel that chill?"

"Mm. But the building gets drafty from time to time. It'll pass."

"Man, I hope so. It feels… off."

::

"Look, I just want you guys to say you're sorry. It's not that hard," Sasori drawled. Zori and Waraji dangled from a tree branch, utterly humiliated and tied together with a great expanse of rope. They were a little into the forest Waraji hocked a loogie in which he leaned to the side to avoid. "Geez, I guess you've skipped out on your etiquette classes. I mean, you're already fucked over. Might as well tell me what's up."

Zori's dark purple beanie slipped off his head.

"Doesn't matter. You're too late, little bitch," he taunted. Sasori punched him in the face and rolled his eyes. Just because he currently had pink hair didn't mean that he was a bitch. He was an asshole at best. Probably even a bastard.

"Too late for what?"

Waraji flashed him a dark grin. "Sorry, girlie. The next time you see your teammates, some of their bits'll be there, there, and _waaay_ over there while their blood turns the ocean red!"

Sasori halfheartedly backhanded him. Even if he'd been a criminal for much of his life, he still found it kind of annoying when people in his line of work gave cryptic threats instead of keeping their mouths shut like the good ones do.

"Ugh, you're all so irritating."

Suddenly, a deafening blast bounced in his eardrums followed by three more of the same magnitude. He turned around to see the end of the bridge crumble into the waves below. Mere seconds passed before a fifth explosion went off—not on the bridge exactly, but on a crane that carried something metal that collapsed onto whoever had the misfortune of being below it.

And it was then that Sasori's stomach churned in a way that made him feel horribly sick.

"Ha!" Zori laughed. "What I tell you? You're too late!"

Sasori slowly cracked his neck. "I hope you're praying she's not dead," he whispered. Waraji sneered.

"You ain't the least bit threatening, kid."

As he took his sweet time in facing them again, his Sakura facade melted away to display bright red hair and eyes that descended into infuriated madness. The smiles on the captives' faces quickly dropped at the sight of a man prominently featured on every single wanted list across the black market.

And by the heavens, they'd never seen someone look so livid.

"Because if she is, not even _God_ can save you now."

"Sasori-kun..."

Kou stood on the branch the two mercenaries were tied on with his stare glued onto the bridge. His ears were flat against the back of his head, fur sticking up on end, tail tucked between his legs and back arched. Yori, from his place on the cat summon's head, stayed absolutely silent.

"...Sasori-kun... _I can't feel Sakura-chan's chakra_..."

::

When the first explosion went off, everything at the end of the bridge tilted to the right. Boxes were flying and a couple of cranes came crashing down. Gato's men didn't even falter in their attacks and kept going despite the growing chaos that surrounded them.

Zabuza met Kakashi's gaze.

"I'm going to check for more bombs and defuse them!" he shouted over the tumultuous battle. "Take care of everything up here!"

Kakashi couldn't get a reply out as another explosion rocked the bridge. He and the Kiri-nin fought on the safer side, but the kids—

Oh god.

Oh god, no.

He twisted his head towards the four genin who were hundreds of meters away from where he was. The four of them he could still recognize with the far distance, doing much better with Sakura there to help them attack the thugs. No matter how many men he cut down or how many he threw into the ocean.

There were so many of them.

More still streamed onto the bridge to fight the battle.

Some had taken to the boats and fired flaming arrows into the discord.

The mission had long foregone its B-rank status and was snug in the center of being an A-rank, too far beyond any of the genin's capabilities. If they retreated now, they could save their lives but they'd doom the country into its downfall.

If they didn't leave...

...which one of his students was going to die first?

A third and fourth explosion shook the bridge's foundation. Kakashi pushed through some thugs that thought it had been a good idea to pile atop him. With these incredible numbers, even he could begrudgingly admit that he was repulsively impressed. These thugs were not simply meant to stir fear in the hearts of the locals.

They were here to slaughter.

"I have to get to them," he found himself muttering. "They don't stand a chance. They're going to die."

Kakashi jumped onto the railing and began running from there, strategically avoiding arrows and any weapons the thugs were chucking or slashing at him. The closer he got, the easier it was to see how the four were doing.

Sasuke had an arrow lodged into his shoulder. It wasn't too deep, and could be dealt with without any instant medical treatment. His visible pallor was littered with cuts and bruises and a relatively long gash ran from his right knee to his ankle that caused him to limp. He practically propped himself up on his blond friend to help with the pain.

Naruto was known to not be as good at dodging as the rest of his teammates. Suffice to say, he looked absolutely exhausted with his beloved orange jacket ripped in numerous places and a second degree burn proudly showing on the entirety of his left cheek. His right eye was partially closed due to the swelling of an oncoming black eye, but he wasn't letting up.

Haku was doing a little better than the two boys. He had long given up using ninjutsu techniques and stuck to his seemingly infinite amount of senbon and taijutsu. It seemed that he was keeping off his left foot, his ankle probably sprained or broken, but he persisted in attacking every man possible. Blood spilled down from his face from some sort of injury on his head.

Sakura was trying the best she could to help her boys and her new friend. There was blood on her clothes and in her hair, but if the feeling in Kakashi's nerves said anything, it was safe to assume that most of it wasn't hers. The bandage on her right bicep was now cleanly off, giving him an eyeful of the dark markings that encased her entire upper arm.

Poison?

_That's not important right now._

A seal?

_Save your team._

There was a fifth explosion. Strangely, it did not thrum through the steel and concrete foundations like the four other ones had done. Small vibrations instead shook the ground they stood on. A crane, one that carried steel bars and metal scraps, plunged downward towards—

—towards Haku that stood beneath it.

Kakashi could never forget the feeling of seeing Rin crushed under that boulder. A terrifying feeling took hold of his lungs and he couldn't breathe—he drowned with every breath he took and his legs turned into a jelly he couldn't find the power to stand on. Obito's face in that moment was the second hardest thing to look at with his red puffy eyes and the endless tears that just wouldn't stop no matter how many times he rubbed at them, or how long it took him to scream his voice hoarse.

He vowed to himself that never again in his entire life would he feel that or see that on another person's face.

Haku looked up at the metal, frozen out of his wits, and unaware of the blur that shot in his direction.

And before his brain could catch up to his vocal chords, Kakashi found himself screaming.

"SAKURA!!"

::

After Naruto got kicked out of the orphanage, he'd spent a bit of time wandering the streets of the Akasen. The people there were much nicer than any other shinobi or civilian he met and wouldn't kick him around if they saw him loitering around their business. In that time before Mari took him in, he saw many things children weren't supposed to.

Abuse. Prostitution. Murder.

He was sure nothing else would surprise him when he got older. The first instance of that being proved wrong was when his precious Sakura killed a man the same way the murderer did when he was hiding behind a dumpster. He was scared on both accounts, but Sakura was his best friend. She said she would be there for him no matter what and she told him that she loved him many times before.

And he loved her too. She was one of the people he loved more than anything in the world. She said she would always be there for them no matter what happened.

Then she pushed Haku out of the way.

Sasuke tried to hold her back—grab her before she could do anything drastic, but she was too quick for his weakened reflexes. She'd left them to both watch in horror as she disappeared beneath a mountain of rust and silver. They were sure that she would've gotten away from it. She always did, didn't she?

Their Sakura-chan was strong.

Their Sakura-chan was determined.

Their Sakura-chan was _invincible_.

But they could see pink hair and a hand that stuck out from all the metal that crushed her. Haku was thrown against the railing of the bridge, only his side nicked but a fresh stream of tears pouring down his face. He was safe.

But...

But...

_When had everything gone silent?_

Naruto turned away from his friend- his protector- and faced the mass of Gato's men who waited for the next move to be made.

"...I won't forgive you," he whispered. Shuddering tension began to rise as something positively gruesome dampened the air. "I won't show mercy."

A blast of pure orange chakra burst into a column that reached for the sky. The wounds he sustained had disappeared in a wisp of steam. Blond hair became spikier and wild, fingernails grew to a sharpened tipped length, and eyes the same color as freshly spilled blood took over what was normally azure blue. Then, to nearly everyone's terror, an apparition of a fox's head hovered over Naruto's form, complete with serrated sets of teeth and eyes that showed Hell itself.

" **_DEATH WILL BE THE ONLY APOLOGY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE_ ** _!_ " he roared. Four orange tails whipped up and stretched as far as the eye could see as he charged forward, revenge and pain being the only things that could be clearly seen in his features.

Sasuke was taking much slower in digesting what was going on. He saw Sakura run towards Haku and made every fiber of his being reach out to grab her and keep her out of harm's way. Had he been able to take hold of even just the hem of her shirt, he could've delayed her enough to keep her from having all of that metal fall onto her.

He failed.

He failed, and now one of the people he kept in his heart was dying, if not already dead.

"I... let her die..." he muttered. "I let... I let Sakura... die?"

His eyes burned.

"I couldn't have... but _I did_."

His left eye glowed red and began spinning with two tomoe.

"I let my best friend die."

Sasuke stood onto unstable legs and faced the thugs that had not already been flattened by Naruto's uncontrollable rampage.

"I let her die," he told them, "but you _wanted_ to kill her."

His right eye gleamed with a six-pointed pinwheel.

::

When Zabuza finished defusing all the bombs stuck on the pillars beneath the bridge, he didn't expect the rush of malevolent chakra that sent a prickling feeling up his skin. He climbed back onto the bridge from the destroyed end and saw a scene beyond his wildest imagination.

Kakashi and Haku were both frantically digging up a pile of metal debris. Behind them, the orange aura that saturated the air was gradually fading, collecting into the Uzumaki boy who stood amongst a pile of dead bodies. The Uchiha wasn't too far behind him with blood on his hands—the very same color his mismatched eyes had turned into.

What the fuck?! He was gone for a couple of fucking minutes and everything went wrong!

He paused his thoughts as Kakashi finally caught what he was looking for, gingerly pulling his arms backwards and slowly hauling a body away from the rubble. That body, particularly small in nature, had bright pink hair caked in dust and blood and had two steel shards impaled through pale flesh.

One through the stomach and one through the chest.

"... Oh, hell."

Zabuza rushed over to them the same seconds Sasuke and Naruto did. The boys promptly crumpled at her side as Haku shakily dumped out his mess of medical supplies and began searching for a pulse, if there was any left.

"Sa... Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered. They couldn't see her breathing and there was so much blood on her that they didn't know if it was hers or the thugs she ruthlessly cut down. Tears started to drip down his cheeks as he called out her name like a prayer.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!!" he screamed. Sasuke was frozen, finally out of his furor, as he stared down at the face of the girl who once told him that she'd protect those she cared about no matter the cost.

"Sa... Sakura?" he mumbled. "No—I didn't—NO! Sakura! Wake up—I'm sorry! I didn't mean—I..."

Kakashi couldn't look away. He extended his hand to extract the metal from her body, but was stopped when Haku practically launched himself to grab his arm.

"No! If you take-If you take it out it'll make things wor-worse!"

The jounin recoiled jerkily, as if acid had been dumped onto him.

"She wa-wasn't hit in any vital points an-and there's a pul-pulse!" Haku exclaimed after some agonizing moments. But he was still sobbing. "It's so weak, though. S-So weak- but even if we can get her to stop bleeding out a lot, she'll only have a two days at b-best. The closest... The closest hospital that c-could help her is _Konoha_."

Kakashi bowed his head. Damn it! Of course it was! The only place that could help her was a three to four days travel away and he had two others who were just about ready to enter the world of unconsciousness right alongside her.

"Haku can patch her up the best he can," Zabuza intervened. "After that, you're gonna head straight for Konoha no stopping for anything. I got a supply of chakra pills in my pack that'll help you along the way. Forget about the mission, we'll stay behind."

The jounin felt his heart beating in his throat. In all his years, he never thought he'd find his saving grace in someone who was once a part of Chigiri in its prime. "I need a favor, then."

The swordsman looked at him. "Shoot."

"Use my blood and summon my ninken with this scroll,” he said as he held it out. “They'll help carry Naruto and Sasuke. They can—"

"Who cares about us, sensei?!" Naruto cried. He brushed the hair away from Sakura's face and sniffed. "We're not the ones who're gonna die here! Just GO!"

Kakashi carefully gathered the girl in his arms and threw Zabuza a pleading glance. "My blood—the ninken'll know—"

"I got it, Hatake!" Zabuza barked, throwing the bottle of chakra pills for him to catch. "Get out of here before she's gone!"

Following orders was always his strong suit to the higher-ups in Konoha. Whenever they gave him a command, he pulled it through with his greatest ability and without question. Ever since he was six years old, it was one of the things he took pride in.

But nothing made him run faster than the yells and shouts that resonated so soundly within himself and followed his entire dead break towards the village.

_Hurry._

_Take care of her._

_Save Sakura._

And, along with it, was that little voice at the back of his head that lingered just behind his already piled up torment.

_You let it happen again._

::

_**A/N: Hey guys, next week's update may be a little late or a day early. I'll be out of town so I'll be busy. Thanks for understanding! :D** _

::

**EDITED 2/8/18**


	44. Wish

**A/N:** ** _Be Not Defeated by the Rain_** **,** poem by _Kenji Miyazawa_ **.** Translated by _Hart_ _Larrabee_ **.**

**The poem is centered, underlined, and italicized.**

**Link:** _http://tomoanthology.blogspot.com/2012/08/kenji-miyazawas-poem-ame-ni-mo-makezu.html_

::

_Unbeaten by rain_

_Unbeaten by wind_

_Bested by neither snow nor summer heat_

::

Kakashi didn't stop one moment on his entire journey towards Konoha. It didn't matter how long his muscles were screaming at him to stop or how hard his lungs cried for him to slow down and breathe. Every second wasted was another step Sakura had towards her death and there was absolutely no way he'd sit around and wait for it to come for her.

There were so many questions he had knocking around his head he left alone in favor of reaching the village as quick as he could. Was Naruto's seal broken? Had Sasuke really unlocked the Mangekyo in one eye? Did Zabuza summon his ninken like he was asked? What were the states of those two now?

He desperately wanted to turn back and check, but the red stains on his arms and flak jacket told him that he couldn't.

Haruno Sakura, the little tyrant that always had something to say, was dying.

"... Ka... shi...?"

He picked up his pace. "I know you don't like following my orders, especially after that display back there, but for god's sake stop talking. You can't afford to lose any of your energy," he said. Kakashi tried his hardest to keep the strain in his voice from being heard, but he was sure she knew it was there either way. "Haku's fine. Naruto's fine. Sasuke's fine. You're the only one who got injured so severely that you need medical attention right away."

"... H... Heh..."

When he looked down, her chapped lips curled up the tiniest bit even as her eyes stayed shut.

"Y... You do... ca... re..."

Her head lolled against his chest.

::

_ Strong of body _

_ Free of desire _

_ Never angry _

::

Something dashed past the gate sentries and said one word: "hospital". It took Kotetsu and Izumo a few seconds to determine that no, it wasn't a threat, and that it certainly had been Hatake Kakashi in a panicked state they thought they'd never see on such an impassive and monotonous being. The few more seconds that ticked after that is when they realize it wasn't just him who passed them by.

"He... No way, he wasn't carrying Sakura, was he?" Izumo asked, now wary of the unexpected display. "Should we tell Morino and Shiranui?"

"I doubt it would help things, seeing how frantic Hatake looked. If it was her, the hospital would notify them. But shit, I've never seen him look like that before," Kotetsu said. "Didn't they just go on a C-rank? You think they ran into bandits on the way back?"

"They were slated to be gone for a whole month. It's been, what, two weeks? Something definitely went wrong."

They kept an uneasiness in the darkness of the earlier morning for another two hours or so before another party showed up to throw off their regard for Team Kakashi's "simple mission". Eight ninken appeared at the gates, the largest carrying an unconscious black haired boy and some of the smaller ones lending their bodies to keep the blond one upright.

"Sakura-chan," the latter croaked miserably. His eyes were puffy and red. "Did sensei bring her back in time? Please! Did she... did she..."

Izumo appeared behind him, catching his body as he pitched backward. Kotetsu took it upon himself to carefully lift Sasuke from the bulldog's back.

"Fuck, what happened out there?"

The little pug shook his head. "All I know is what went down, shouldn't have. Take 'em to the hospital; Naruto's only exhausted but Sasuke's got some injuries to take care of, 'specially those eyes of his."

::

_ Always smiling quietly _

_ Dining daily on four cups of brown rice _

_ Some miso and a few vegetables _

::

The Mangekyo Sharingan, as known by many, was obtained by witnessing the death of a loved one. Though contrary to popular belief, they didn't have to be the ones committing the act to have it awakened. It could simply be explained by being brought on by the trauma that came with the death of said someone, but the magnitude of the pain and loss the user had to feel needed to be far beyond normal emotional boundaries.

That was the reason why the Uchiha strayed away from the practice of their ancestors. Those who had it today attained it by the means of pure accident, like Uchiha Shisui, who had gotten it in both eyes because he "allowed his friend and rival to die".

Such expectations hadn't even been in mind as Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi rushed to the hospital as soon as someone had come to inform them that the youngest member of their immediate family had come back two weeks earlier than expected and in an unconscious state.

"He's not in any danger," a doctor ensured the three of them. Mikoto looked most visibly relieved by the news. "Uchiha-san has numerous cuts and bruises, an injury from a projectile behind his left shoulder, and a half a centimeter gash from his right knee down to his right ankle, which will both heal without any scarring."

Fugaku glanced through the plexiglass window to where his son lay calmly in his room, the EKG machine showing no abnormalities in his heartbeat. "But?"

The doctor flipped through her clipboard. "But, as we were examining him, we found that a high amount of chakra had been channeled through his optic nerves, his right eye more so than this left, suggesting that he activated his sharingan. Our assumptions had been accurate when he woke up for a few brief moments. His left eye has the normal sharingan, but his right has a pinwheel pattern we've never encountered before. I'm assuming that winds down to classified clan knowledge?"

She took their sudden frigid expressions as a 'yes'. Itachi took a small step forward.

"What are the rest of his team's conditions?" he questioned, unable to set aside the nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. His beloved little brother—how could something like that happen? On a C-rank mission, no less? The doctor flicked through more of her pages.

"Uzumaki-san is suffering from severe chakra exhaustion and is miraculously uninjured—"

If the Kyuubi could be called miraculous.

"—Hatake-san is going through the very same, though the severity level is greater than the boy's, along with mild cuts and bruising, and... oh. It seems that Haruno-san has taken the brunt of the injuries. In fact, she's currently in the ICU after going through emergency surgery."

Mikoto held up a hand to her mouth. "That poor dear. Will she be alright?"

"Her injuries are extensive, Uchiha-sama. Only time will tell."

The doctor quietly excused herself, telling the three they could go and stay with Sasuke until visiting hours ended at ten in the evening.

Meanwhile, in a room down the hall, Naruto lay in a much similar state as his rival. Iruka had pushed his chair as close to the bed as possible and held his son's hand in his. He was so thankful that he managed to return home unharmed, or as unharmed as a shinobi could get on missions like the ones he just came from.

But even if Naruto was safe and sound, it didn't mean the same for his friends and teammates. Iruka, being the soft soul he was, also cared deeply for both Sasuke and Sakura. They were still his students as well as the rest of Naruto's family, so there was no help in thinking that they weren't like a niece and a nephew to him.

Sasuke would be fine, surely, with minor physical injuries and only the state of his eyes to worry about. Sakura's situation was much more dire with her lengthy list of injuries. When being told of it, Iruka couldn't help but feel bile rise up in his throat. Being wounded like that would have certainly killed any normal shinobi.

Then again, Sakura wasn't exactly normal, was she?

"How is he, 'ruka?"

The door opened and in stepped Mari dressed in simple civilian clothing and his hair tied together in a messy bun. It seemed that he had been able to get off work early like he'd told Iruka just before the latter ran off towards the hospital.

"Naruto's going to be just fine. He just exhausted his chakra and is overly fatigued. The doctor said he can be discharged in a few days."

Mari breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. How 'bout Sasuke-chan and Sakura-chan?"

"Sasuke's fine. Sakura's in the I-ICU."

The older man cursed under his breath as he pulled up another chair to the bed, facing Iruka and taking Naruto's hand as well. "Look, I know this has gotta be a real heavy hitter for ya'," he said. "Why don'tcha just take a rest back home? I'll stay an' watch 'im."

"But..."

"Don't worry 'bout a thing, honey. Get some sleep, take some breakfast or somethin', and take some time to yourself. You've been 'ere for hours and you had a busy day at school. I'll make sure Naru-chan'll be just fine," Mari promised. Iruka reluctantly stood up and placed a kiss on both his partner's cheek and Naruto's forehead.

"... Okay," he conceded. "But I'll be back before classes start later today."

Mari waved him out of the room with an assuring smile. A minute ticked by, the dark sky outside still milling around when he reached over to tousle the head of messy blond hair.

"He's gone. You don't haf'ta keep pretendin' like that."

A few seconds passed before Naruto warily opened his eyes and stared straight above at the ceiling. Even with the bare moonlight and the glow of the heart monitor, Mari didn't have to strain his eyes to the tears that were welling up in his boy's eyes. He wiped some of them away with the pad of his thumb.

"What's wrong, Naru-chan? Somethin' hurt?"

Naruto's tears ran faster. "I... I don't..." He hiccuped. "I don't... d-don't want Sa-Sakura-chan... t-to...  _ hic _ ... to  _ d-die _ ..."

::

_ Observing all things _

_ With dispassion _

_ But remembering well _

::

"I don't know how much more my heart can take."

"And you say  _ I'm  _ the old man."

"I'm being serious! I swear to god my heart stopped when we sat through her mental examination, I thought I was hallucinating when she went on that mission two years ago, I spent days trying to convince myself that you were lying about the sleeping pills, I nearly lost my mind when you told me about the whole sealing fiasco, and now there's this!" Genma cried. He grabbed at the hair hastily tucked beneath his bandana. "She's going to kill me one day!"

Ibiki sighed. That was one way to put it. He'd been walking home from a long and uneventful day at T&I when a hospital intern appeared and told him the state of his ward. Immediately, he practically hauled Genma along to the hospital with him without knowing just exactly what Sakura had gotten herself into. The only thing the intern told him was that her situation was 'critical'.

"You know what she's like."

"Yeah, well she needs to tone it down."

The two of them breezed through the hospital entrance, Ibiki approaching the receptionist. "We're looking for Haruno Sakura. I'm her guardian, Morino Ibiki," he said, flashing his T&I ID card. The man behind the desk nodded and typed a few things into his computer.

"You'll find her on floor four, room two," the receptionist politely informed. Ibiki and Genma exchanged glances before hurrying up the stairs, deeming the elevator too slow for their demand to know what exactly happened to their student. Floor four was the ICU. If a shinobi had managed their way in there, there was no telling the true extent of 'critical'.

When they reached her room, 'critical' couldn't even begin to justify the circumstance she was in.

"What the  _ fuck _ ..." Genma whispered disbelievingly. Sakura was hooked onto several machines to regulate her organ functions, it seemed, and a blood bag hung over just to the side of her head. The parts of her body that weren't covered blankets were swathed in bandages, particularly her arm that had been casted and set in a sling. An oxygen mask was placed over the lower half of her face, but even with it it didn't look like she was breathing.

"Morino-san, I take it."

The doctor handed Ibiki the clipboard, which he readily took and flipped through.

"What the hell happened to her?"

"She finished surgery about an hour ago. We had several medics tend to the list of injuries on page three. The most prominent ones sustained was to her torso where we had to extract two metal shards that completely pierced her through- from her left lumbar region, barely hitting her left kidney and descending colon, and from below her left clavicle where the shard punctured a lung and missed her heart by millimeters," the doctor explained as he cast a glance at his patient. "With injuries as considerable as hers, it's a wonder that she made it this far. And quite the luck she had not getting a fatal hit."

"Do you know when she'll wake up?" Genma asked. The doctor shook his head.

"When, or  _ if  _ for any matter, all depends on her. We've done all we can and we'll continue to help her, but she's the only one who can pull through this."

That wasn't a comforting thought in the slightest. Sakura already had a problem doing all of that when she was healthy and well (for lack of a better term)—so her deciding whether to live or not while on the brink of death was hardly fair. Ibiki gave the clipboard back.

"The rest of her team?"

"Still unconscious as far as I'm aware."

Genma leaned against the wall before letting his head drop into his hands. Why was it that Sakura was the one getting into all these situations? She could've been a simple shinobi who had every single one of her peers, still more advanced than the rest but with a truer smile on her face.

She could've been a happy child with parents that loved her and still be apprenticed to T&I but be that much more naive and innocent, looking like she didn't carry the whole world on her shoulders. But instead, she had turned to this life.

A little girl wracked with guilt who still thought that she wasn't enough and that she'd never  _ be  _ enough.

"Hey, Morino. I'm gonna see if I can get any more information about... this," Genma said. Ibiki shrugged a shoulder as he sat in one of the chairs outside Sakura's room.

"I'll be here."

Down on the second floor was where the rest of Team Kakashi was being held. First he checked the team leader, finding that not only was he unconscious like that one doctor told him, but probably would be for the next several days if his charts had anything to say about it. Next he went to Sasuke's room, but after seeing all of his family bunched at his side, slowly backtracked to the last person he could hear the story from.

But as he approached Naruto's room, he could hear quiet sniffling.

"W-We were all fighting on the bridge, ya' know? Since Sa-Sakura-chan came... we-we were doin' lots more 'cause she's super strong. We thought we were gonna win until..."

"'til?" an unfamiliar voice questioned.

"... until... until the bombs went off."

Genma stopped by the door and kept out of sight. There were more sniffles, then Naruto's rough voice floated back out to the nearly empty hallway.

"The firs' one made the bridge start to shake, but we still had ta' fight. Then there was another one, then a third one, then one after that, but w-we thought we were gonna be okay. I had Sasuke and Sakura-chan and our new friend Haku, so we were go-gonna be  _ okay _ ." Some sheets rustled and it sounded like the boy started weeping again. "But then there was the la-last bomb. It wasn't on the bridge like the rest of 'em 'ca-cause it was on one of those really big crane thingies and it ha-had lotsa metal on it. S-So the metal went down and Haku... Haku was standing right there! And Sakura-chan pushed him away so she'd be the one who died instead!"

The sound of his sobs had strengthened, but was soon muffled. Whoever was in the room with him had probably hugged him.

"I thought she d-died there and I got so... so mad at those bastards 'cause they were the ones that ki-killed her, but I saw her... I saw her run an'-an' I don't get it!!"

"You don't get what, Naru-chan?"

"Why did Sa-Sakura-chan just throw herself und-under the metal like that?" Naruto whimpered. "She knew she cou-coulda died but she did... she did it anyway. Why? Doesn't sh-she  _ care  _ 'bout what happens to her?"

Genma pursed his lips and slipped away.

::

_ Living in a small, thatched-roof house _

_ In the meadow beneath the canopy of pines _

::

When Sakura opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a small aloe plant sitting on the table beside her. She thought it looked so cute in its tiny purple pot with a little caption written with black ink saying 'Feel Better' and- oh.

This was the hospital, wasn't it?

She slowly turned her neck, which was stiff from disuse, to the right and saw her boys slumped in the chairs lined up next to the window. Naruto had his head tipped back and drool leaking out the corner of his mouth and Sasuke had his arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows cinched together and chin against his chest.

"Psst. Sasuke."

Sakura coughed, voice scratchy and dry from disuse. Sasuke shifted. "Mm... what?"

"Did my caterpillars make it back okay?"

"You're in the hospital, Sakura," he grumbled. "You shouldn't care about those stupid cater..."

He blinked himself awake and rubbed at his face to get the crust out from around his eyes. Next his head jerked up and his hand slammed straight into Naruto's stomach—voluntarily or involuntarily, she couldn't tell.

"You're up!"

At those words, Naruto slid off his chair and hit the floor with a nice dull  _ thud _ . He opened his mouth to snipe some bitter rebuttal at the way his person was treated, but when he saw an amused pair of emerald eyes, he shot to his feet like he hadn't been rudely assaulted just seconds ago.

"Sakura-chan!!"

They fussed over her like she'd never known them to do so before, asking if she needed some water, more pillows, was in pain... To which the answers were 'yes', 'no thank you', and 'it's nothing I can't handle'. And as Sasuke walked to the other side of the room to get her pack and ensure that her caterpillars were in fact fine, her eyes fell onto the calendar tacked up on the wall.

Two weeks.

That was how long it took her spare seal to work.

::

_ Going east to nurse the sick child _

::

She was surprised at the myriad of people that came to visit her over the next three days since her consciousness. She soon discovered Yori had hidden in the expanse of sheets the entirety of her admittance and left when he had the chance to inform Sasori that he definitely didn't need to (and he quoted his summoner word for word) "cut a damn bitch" because she was healing at a slow but steady rate.

After Sasuke and Naruto had to be pried away from her side to have check ups on injuries of their own, Hinata popped her head into the room.

With an adorably pink face and her hands clasped around a red box, she hurried over to Sakura's beside and placed the gift on the table right beside the aloe plant.

"These are anmitsu on-onigiri! Your, u-um, your favorite!" she squeaked. Sakura looked at the box, delicately wrapped in red and silver ribbon, before holding both her arms out with a wide grin. Hinata cocked her head.

"Sakura-san?"

"Thanks, Hinata! Come over here and give me a big hug!"

The Hyuuga's face burst into a tremendously loud shade of red as she backed up. "I-I... a... a... getbettersoonSakura-san!"

She scurried out the room. Sakura laughed to herself (causing a small coughing fit) then settled back into her pillows. She did admit that was kind of mean, but she hadn't seen the other girl in so long that she missed how easy it was to make her blush.

Though aside from her, she really didn't expect much more visitors after that.

But it seemed like the world loved to prove her absolutely wrong.

Kiba came in a few hours later with Akamaru sitting on his head and a fist-full of 'Get-Well-Soon' balloons in his right hand. He greeted her with an ecstatic wave as he tied them to her bed and plopped down into the seat next to her. When asked about why he brought so many balloons, he made a face.

"Well 'cause the more balloons you give someone, the happier they're gonna be. Duh."

Akamaru barked in agreement. Then Hana came in a few minutes later, even more balloons in her grasp.

"Kiba! You didn't get enough!"

An hour after that, Chouji came in. He had a whole plate of freshly made dango, which he and his mom made for her, and set it on the table next to Hinata's onigiri. He told Sakura about how glad he was that she was okay and that he and all her friends came to visit her every day until the day she woke up.

She frowned. "Why would you guys do that?"  _ For me? _

"What are you talking about? We all got scared when we found out what happened. We had to make sure you were alright."

Something flashed in Sakura's eyes, and if he saw it, he didn't say anything about it.

The next morning, she woke up to the sight of a huge bouquet of white lilies waddling its way into her room. They were placed on the table right alongside the aloe plant, the half-eaten onigiri, and the mostly filled dango plate. She would've eaten more of the food, but her situation didn't exactly allow for a healthy appetite.

Ino jumped out from right behind them with an almost accusatory glare. "How could you almost die like that, forehead?!"

"Sorry. I'll ask permission next time."

"Don't even  _ joke  _ about that!"

Ino hefted herself up next to Sakura's feet and crossed her arms with a huff. She went on to chastise her bedridden friend about how bad it was to get injured so extensively like that and she was forever banned from ever getting so hurt again.

"Pale blue isn't even your color," the blonde sniffed, eyeing the sheets and hospital gown distastefully. "If you never have to come back here again, it won't be a problem."

Sakura couldn't remember the last time Ino had been the one troubling over her, not the other way around.

Almost immediately after she left about two hours later, Shikamaru came sauntering in with a wooden board tucked under his arm and a bag held in one of his hands. Without saying a word, he placed the board on her lap and began arranging the shogi pieces he pulled out from said bag.

"I knew Ino was going to come and see you," he said. "So I thought it would be better if you had some time to get some of your brain cells back."

Sakura laughed.

Hours later near the end of visiting hours, someone she never expected to spare her the time of day. Hyuuga Hanabi came stomping up to her side and cast one long look at all tubes and bandages imposing on her "rival" before thrusting a cup into her pale hands.

"Hanabi-san?"

"Nee-sama's sad that you're here. So get better."

The one hospitalized peered down at the cup and saw that it was one of of her favorite desserts-- anmitsu from the shop a block away from the Academy, and smiled.

"Thank you, Hanabi-san. It's sweet that you came to see me."

Hanabi pinkened and turned away with a scoff. "I didn't do this for you and you're still my rival!"

Sakura's smile widened. "Yes, yes, of course. My mistake."

On the third day, Sai came in to greet the day with her. He babbled on and on about how excited he was to finally see her awake and on her way to recovery.

"So I was doing some research outside of school and you know what I read? That there's a whole color psychology that's supposed to do a lot of things for somebody!" he grinned. "I found out that green is 'sposed to promote healing and things like that so I made you a whole sketchbook full of drawings in green! And lots of different shades of green so they don't get boring. Here! Look!"

Sai gleefully handed her one of his standard sketchbooks. It didn't look like anything out of the ordinary, except for the  **'FOR SAKURA TO GET BETTER BECAUSE SHE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO BEING AWESOME NOT LIKE SHE ISN'T AWESOME NOW BUT I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN'** painted on with a dark green shade. She bit her lip to keep from laughing and flipped through.

Each page had a different scene, ranging from waterfalls to forests to flower beds to mountain tops, and even to Konoha's far too familiar streets.

"You're not allowed to go outside yet, right? So I made sure to draw all that I could so you can look at the drawings and not miss it so much anymore!"

Sakura stroked the artworks with her finger. How long did it take him to make this for her? It would've been hours upon hours out of each day that he had to devote to just making her feel better. Was she really just worth it? All that painstaking time just to be used to make her happy?

"... Thank you, Sai," she murmured, eyes running down every line he had drawn for her. "Everything you've made is beautiful."

His grin stuck true to his face. "When you get out of the hospital, let's go on a walk by the lake!"

At noon, Shino came to visit. He had on his large overcoat and glasses like he normally did and looked just as expressionless as he did on his normal days. His steps were quiet as he padded over Sakura's side, and as he neared her, he pulled a small plastic bag out of one of his large pockets and set it on the table.

"I... am very forgetful," he said. "But I remember that you like dried pineapples."

Easy. Simple. Not too much hassle.

But it really hit close that he recalled even the smallest details of the Killer Hornet Incident from so long ago.

"Hey, Shino?"

He looked at her.

"Wanna keep me company for a while?"

He made no inclination of staying, but eventually moved to the other side of her and pulled up a chair without saying much of anything else. And that silence was completely fine with her.

At least until Sasuke and Naruto would come in later on and break the door off its hinges like they did the last time.

So on the fourth day of her waking up, Sakura received a guest she knew would come in sooner or later. Yamanaka Inoichi strolled into the room expecting his patient to be knowingly waiting for his arrival or sweet-talking the nurses into letting her leave the hospital earlier, but he was surprised to find her not doing anything of the sort.

Strangely enough, her head was turned to look at the table covered in the gifts her friends had given her the past few days.

"By the looks of it, a lot of your friends came to visit."

"Yeah, but..."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow. "But? You didn't want them to?"

"No, I loved everything they did for me, it's just... I don't know, no one's ever done this for me before," she mentioned quietly. He took a seat by the window as he pulled his assessment book from his black overcoat.

"No one's ever done what?"

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Shown me how much they wanted me to get better."

::

_ Going west to bear sheaves of rice for a weary mother _

::

Sasori didn't look too happy today, Gaara noted curiously. The corners of the man's lips were pulled down into a huge frown and his finger had been incessantly tapping his knee for the past ten minutes. A scorpion had come saying something like 'she'll be dispatched in a few days, so you don't have to keep worrying' or another thing along those lines.

"Did something happen, Sasori?"

"It's just..." he grumbled. Then, he sighed. "Remember when I told you about the girl I knew? The one whose heart is sick?"

Gaara nodded.

"She was admitted to the hospital a couple of weeks ago after nearly sacrificing her life for the people she loved. I'm not complaining that she cares so much about other people, but it wouldn't hurt for her to care about  _ herself  _ every once in a while."

The boy leaned into his arm. "She must really love those people she saved, huh?" he asked. Sasori threaded a hand through Gaara's hair and looked up at the setting sun.

"They're her family, but she should learn how to not risk her life so much."

Gaara shifted so that his eyes were downcast. He didn't know why Sasori was so against such a thing, if the sick girl was willingly to die for those she loved, wasn't that a good thing? It showed how much those people meant to her and what she was willing to do to make sure they stayed alive no matter the cost.

There was such pure intent behind the gesture.

"I would do the same thing for you," the boy murmured into the cloth of Sasori's cloak sleeve. The man slumped forward and pretended not to hear.

::

_ Going south to tell the dying man there is no cause for fear _

::

The monk stood in the middle of the recently completed bridge that connected Wave Country to the mainland. He passed by numerous dark spots that stained the concrete on his walk over, the workers saying that it was merely a paint spill accident, but those who had been there a month ago knowing very well that it was a loosely-crafted lie.

A little boy, he saw, hurried to two people standing along the railing of the bridge. The monk recognized them as the team that accompanied the team that left on harrowing circumstances.

"Haku-san..." the boy said, clinging onto the teenager's sleeve. "Haku-san, do you know what happened to Sakura-san yet? Is she still hurt?"

Haku bit his bottom lip. "We received a letter saying she's recovering well. She's okay now, Inari-kun," he answered. He tried to give up his best smile, but the monk knew it was anything but. Forced smiles were never the easiest to see, but the way it fit so uncomfortably on the Kiri-nin's face made it more than apparent. He kept it on until Inari reluctantly returned to his now-safe town before facing his companion, the bandaged swordsman.

"We have to return to the village," the man said before his apprentice could utter a word. "They said she was fine and Yagura-sama won't allow delay."

"I have to tell her I'm sorry!"

"Haku—"

The boy started to cry. "I need to tell her that she didn't need to do that! I need to tell her, Zabuza-sensei! I need to tell her that she shouldn't have thrown her life away!"

The monk turned forward.

He'd been one of the few not in the safe houses and watched the entirety of the fallout. He saw the bandits, the explosions, the crane falling, and the anguished screams and malevolent chakra that followed soon after that. Haruno Sakura, if he remembered correctly, had nearly died when he watched her be carried away by her teacher.

Her sacrifice was... a surprise to witness.

"Shishou? Aren't we leaving?"

The monk adjusted the pack over his shoulder and turned towards his disciple. "Hm, just thinking about some things. Come on. Wind Country's going to be our next destination. It's a long way out, so we'll have to get a move on," he said. The boy bobbed his head and quickly fell in step next to the monk, the latter sparing a glance at the engraved plaque that hung over all those who journeyed to Wave.

**_The Cherry Blossom Bridge_ **

::

_ Going north to tell those who fight to put aside their trifles _

::

The one person Sakura never had a visit from was Kakashi—the person she thought would be the most worried out of the rest of them. He might wear that mask over the bottom half of his face, but nothing could cover the fear and desperation in his expression. It took him all he could to travel the length to Konoha and he probably collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

But from her time at the hospital to her taking it easy back at home, there wasn't the slightest trace of him.

Until one of his dog summons gave her a note after her check up at the hospital.

_ Meet me at the Memorial Stone. _

The message was short and revealed nothing, but perhaps it was there for the sake of significance? But it was no matter for her. The travel there was certainly a change from being bedridden and cooped up in her room at the house all day.

It started raining when she got there. Luckily enough, Genma's insistent nagging on her bringing an umbrella actually came in handy (he'd been such a mother hen ever since she was released from the hospital). Kakashi stood before the black marble with his hands in his pockets, not saying a word and letting the droplets soak his clothes.

"You're looking better," he greeted quietly. Sakura gave him an odd look.

"Well, yeah. I got out of the hospital nearly a week ago, you know. Even the doctors were surprised that my injuries are healing so fast," she said. She wiggled the arm still in a sling. "Most of them, anyway."

"... You should have stayed there longer. To make sure nothing really went wrong."

"Nah, it's fine. What happened to me wasn't that bad. Don't you hear what the boys say about me? I'm invincible!" she grinned, giving a small fist pump for emphasis. He twitched.

"Wasn't that bad?" Kakashi repeated. He rounded on her, his eyes ablaze with fury. " _ Wasn't that bad? _ You had a collapsed lung, several fractured bones, sixteen separate contusions over six centimeters long and five centimeters wide, tissue damage, a concussion, metal that pierced your stomach and chest, and myocardial ischemia! You were  _ dying _ in my arms and all you can say is that it  _ wasn't that bad _ ?!"

Sakura's grip faltered on her umbrella as she blinked up at him. Being explicitly yelled at by Kakashi was new.

"How is it that you can stand there and crack jokes with that happy look after you nearly lost your life from shards of metal falling on you?!" he exclaimed. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and exhaled harshly. "So it's true, then. What Naruto said."

"... What did he...?"

"That you'll willingly sacrifice anything for the sake of others because you don't care enough about yourself."

"What? That's not—!"

She stopped at the murderous look on his face.

"Then how do you explain what happened with Haku? You knew him for barely two weeks and you threw everything away just to push him out from under metal! No one's invincible, Sakura! Not even  _ you _ !""

She pressed her lips together and he sighed.

"I called you here for a reason. What you did in Wave was a direct violation against my orders almost at the cost of your life and compromising the mission even further. I know you're only a genin, but I've told you this before. There are consequences to your actions."

He drew in a deep breath. "You're suspended from the team."

::

_ Shedding tears in time of drought _

_ Wandering at a loss during the cold summer _

_ Called useless by all _

::

Kakashi tore his gaze away from the absolutely betrayed look in her eyes and the way her mouth dropped in shock, a look that could only be dawned if any one of her boys ever stared straight at her and told her that they hated her—something that would never happen yet never be surmounted, but the words coming out of the Jounin's mouth were damn near close to it.

"That means you can't train with us, participate in missions we're assigned to, or engage in any other activity where Team Kakashi is listed on the roster."

Her breathing quickened. "You... You can't just... _ do this _ ..."

"I've already taken it up with Hokage-sama and it has been approved and finalized," he said, still refusing to look her in the eyes. "From this point onward, you're not allowed back on the team for at least three weeks. Even then, I'm not sure that covers the entirety of your punishment."

That betrayal took its time to finally sink in, and when it did, it turned into a rage to rival Naruto's when he lost control on the bridge.

"I can't believe it! You're punishing me for saving someone's life!"

"There are rules that need to be followed, Sakura. You put everyone in jeopardy due to your actions."

"He didn't deserve to die!" she shouted.

"But  _ you  _ do?!" he shot back. "Stop trying to play hero, Sakura! If you try to save everyone, you're only going to get yourself killed!"

She shook her head and shut her eyes in utter disbelief. "I thought... of all people, you would understand why I do things the way I do things. I saved Haku because he was my friend and he, like everyone else, deserved a chance to live. I was thinking that finally, I wouldn't let anyone down anymore," she whispered. Lightning crackled the sky, creating a brief shadow over the ground they stood on. "You don't know the things I've been through, Kakashi. What I had to live through my entire life. Maybe I wanted to die out there and all you did was stop me from fulfilling my wishes!"

He was taken aback. "...You don't mean that."

"Oh, what the hell do you know?! Of all this time being our 'sensei', you haven't done one goddamn thing to try and get to know us better! We tried all that we could by cracking those jokes you 'hate', making bets, sharing stories, making dinner, laughing with everyone—but no! All we wanted was to be your friends and all you've done is push us away! So how the fuck are you going to tell me what I mean and don't mean?! Are you the same man that passed us because we were the ones that said we wouldn't leave our teammates behind?!"

"Sakura!"

The umbrella dropped from Sakura's hand with the sharp gestures in his direction, but she didn't seem to notice. "No! You can't keep treating me like I don't know what I'm doing! I will never regret the decision I made that day, and if I ever get the chance to do it over I wouldn't take it. I would risk my life for him every. Single. Damn. Time. Now tell me, Kakashi, why is it I shouldn't save people who are more deserving than I'll ever be?!"

When he said nothing, she stepped forward until they were only a meter apart.

"Go ahead! Tell me! Since you know  _ everything _ !"

Still nothing. She went closer until she grabbed the front of his shirt with her good arm and shook him until angry tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"TELL ME!"

"BECAUSE YOU CAN'T JUST THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS,  **_RIN_ ** !!"

The rain suddenly felt a little colder.

Sakura dropped the fabric and retreated some ways backwards. Kakashi had turned around so fast that only the red swirl on his flak jacket faced her now, leaving her to shake her head and push some of her wet hair to the side. "So that's what it was. You never saw me. All you saw was a mistake that shouldn't follow through." She chuckled hollowly. "But who am I to talk? It's not like I'm any better."

She, uncaring of the rain that soaked her bandages and chilled her healing wounds, began her walk down the path back towards the village. Her saffron yellow umbrella lay discarded at Kakashi's heels—the one thing he glanced at as the frigid air carried her parting words.

"But now... I guess it's safe to say it's better to be the scum that abandons their comrades than the trash that breaks the rules, right? Good to know."

Kakashi stared at her retreating form slumped in hurt and defeat with the sound of water on stone the only welcoming sound ringing in his ears.

::

_ Neither praised _

_ Nor a bother _

_ Such is the person _

::

This was a predicament.

For as long as Ibiki could remember, one of his biggest problems with Sakura was trying to keep track of her. Sometimes she'd be walking next to him, sometimes she was gone when he turned a corner with only a sticky-note on his side telling him not to worry or he'd get more wrinkles. Sometimes she'd be in his office bantering with him about this or that, and sometimes his window was open and there would be a sticker in the place she was just at.

He didn't really care, honestly. She could discern right from wrong and knew her way back home from any part of the village.

But today was odd. When Ibiki left for work, Sakura was curled in her sheets with her face smooshed in her pillow. Thinking that it was the fatigue of her injuries, he told her that he left breakfast on the table. When he got back, the food he left sat untouched on the table and she was in the same position from when he last saw her.

"Did you just stay in bed the whole day?" he asked. "We had to keep you on the bed when you were in the hospital. How come only now you're doing what you're told?"

She mumbled into her pillow, making him snort.

"I beg to differ. Bandages need changing? Uncomfortable?"

More wordless murmurs.

Ibiki lowered himself down on the foot of her bed. "Yeah, I know you can take care of yourself but you haven't moved or eaten for the past twelve hours. Cough it up, kid," he said. "Something's been eating at you for a couple of days now and you haven't even gone to any of your team training sessions."

There was a short pause before she muttered lowly. His eyebrows creased as he looked at her. That was a joke, right?

"What do you mean you got suspended? And all because Hatake got angry at you for putting your life out like that?" he repeated. Of course Kakashi had always been even more of a stickler for rules than he was, but he never expected that to happen. "Huh. Didn't think he had it in him to turn on a teammate like that."

Something that sounded like a sigh escaped her muffled lips.

"Am I mad about what you did?"

She grunted and Ibiki turned his gaze to her ceiling. He wasn't as frantic as Genma was when he learned about the condition she got herself into, but there was that small sliver of anxiety and anger he felt when he saw her nearly lifeless in the ICU. After Idate he had no one and after her parents, she was the same way.

Living together wasn't the happiest they'd ever been in their lives, but if they didn't have each other, where would they be now?

"To be honest, I'm still a little pissed at your stunt," he answered truthfully. "But you did it because you thought it was right. Can't blame you for that."

Sakura pulled her face out of her pillow and offered him a small smile. The bags under her eyes were like angry shadows against the pallor of her skin as she looked a bit thinner from her normally healthy build.

"Thanks," she whispered. Ibiki shrugged his shoulders and pushed himself back onto his feet.

"You needed to get back to your usual self soon anyways," he said. "Shiranui and I were talking, and we came to the conclusion that you obviously don't know how an A-rank missions is supposed to go. As your sensei, we have an obligation to show you how it's done correctly."

She rolled over. "You booked me on an A-rank?  _ With you and Genma? _ "

"You look like you need a pick-me-up."

"But... But I was unconscious for two weeks!"

He pointed at her bandages. "I know you've been secretly healing yourself ever since you got back and all you've been doing is mope.  Fix your injuries by the end of the week and we'll leave. We'll tell you what it's about on the way there."

The glazed look in her eyes replaced itself with genuine happiness and hope as she flung herself to wrap her arms around Ibiki's midsection. He made a displeased face and tried to throw her back on the bed as nicely as possible.

"Scrooge learned how to love!"

"Don't make me ground you! And—dammit! Let go!"

::

Kakashi had stayed at the Memorial for hours on end. His clothes has been thoroughly soaked and dried stiff in the while that he stayed there. Muddy sandals tracked his hallways when he finally skulked home at night as his conscious remained foggy no matter how much he tried to sleep it off. His team— _ could he still say it was his?— _ would meet in three days for their first training session after the contingency, and he was sure his two remaining students— _ could he still be called a teacher?— _ wouldn't be happy with what he'd done.

_ "Are you the same man that passed us because we were the ones that said we wouldn't leave our teammates behind?!" _

This was the right thing to do, no question about it. If Sakura risked her life like that one more time it'd all be over. He couldn't allow her the chance to make the wrong choice.

She needed to cool down. Re-evaluate her options. Make decisions that benefited herself above all else for once.

_ 'Like you can talk, hypocrite.' _

He was a hypocrite, wasn't he?

But all he wanted was to make sure his team didn't make the same mistakes he had and still grieved over the thousands of days that passed him by. Kakashi wanted for his team to be stronger than he ever was-- smarter, more capable, less weighed down by the wrongs they committed onto themselves. He wanted them to be better than what everyone else thought of them.

To be somebody.

Somebody...

Kakashi let his head drop as he gazed out his window.

" _ I wish to be _ ."

::

**_A/N: Well, this chapter came out on time. I'll be in New York for the next three weeks, so that might really put a hold on updates. But we'll see._ **


	45. Omake IV: Hero

"It makes so much sense..." Shizune muttered. She stared at the screen in sad understanding and regretful acceptance. "There were times in later war years that Sakura up and disappeared for days at a time, not telling anyone where she went or what she did. A daughter... I would've never imagined..."

Sachiko wrung her hands together.

_ You're probably wondering why the pictures of me in this box is the first time you've ever seen me. Ever since you were born and I saw your beautiful face, I knew that I wouldn't be able to see you grow up. _

_ I'm not... stable. _

_ A lot of things have happened to me in the past and during the war, and when all those things pile together you get just one big mess. It was a mess I decided not to pass down to you, because you deserve more than my mistakes. But perhaps I can't just blame my absence in your life to those variables. _

_ I'm a coward as well.  _

_ I love you , dearly, but I'm sorry that you had the misfortune of having me as your mother. _

The girl flinched as Shizune's gaze snapped towards her, but stood still as an observing quiet filled the room. When the woman stood, she stared at the screen for a few moments—or more specifically, stared at the old picture of a sixteen year old Haruno Sakura.

"You do have your mother's eyes, Sachiko-san."

"I-I do?"

"Mm. Like brilliant cut emeralds," she sighed. "I'm not sure how much you know about her, but she played a vital part in the last war. She saved a lot of lives in her day, a definite hero to both civilian and shinobi alike."

Sachiko ducked her head. The gesture was easily made out to be one of her shyer tendencies, as Kakashi quickly assumed, but they failed to see that it was more than that. That sickening feeling of anger had crawled back up her throat and forced her to see deathly red spikes in her vision. 

_ Hero. _

How many times was she going to hear that word?

"Are you going to tell Hokage-sama?"

"Tenzou and I agreed that this wasn't going to be the right time, so we're keeping that bit out. For now, at least," Kakashi replied, patting Sachiko's head once. "Naruto just took position last year and Boruto's turning nine. He has a lot on his plate at the moment."

_ I hope Naruto achieves his dream of becoming Hokage. He, out of everyone else I know, would best lead the village into a greatness never before seen since the Shodai's time. _

_ It's on the list of things I wanted to see if I didn't die, right under watching you grow up into someone you yourself are proud of. _

"For the time being, though, I'll be her temporary guardian until we smooth things out. Are you alright with that?" he asked. Sachiko's head snapped up, noticing his kind single-eyed stare, and nodded.

"That's fine, H-Hatake-san."

She let herself be steered out of the lab after bidding Shizune a quick goodbye and cast one shy look at the woman who returned to gazing blankly at the screen. As they re-entered the hospital, Sachiko was left amazed at the grandeur of the hospital. It was filled with the latest technology and had staff in all kinds of colorful scrubs.

"Your mother was one of the most talented medic-nin the world had ever known. She was well-known physician here at the hospital, infamous for her temper and no nonsense attitude at misbehaving patients. She would've been Hospital Director if she hadn't... So Senju Tsunade kept the position to this day," Kakashi informed.

It was kind of amazing how she and her mother had such similar interests even if they were completely different people never able to meet. Her dream always had been to help others. Not so much the way her grandma was doing at the inn, but like the way nurses do. Maybe doctors, too.

Would her mother be proud of her if she took the same path she did? Or disappointed, because she hated herself so much that she couldn't bear becoming even the slightest influence on her only child's life?

_ Whatever you decide to become or whoever you decide to be, I'll always stand behind you. If you have a dream, chase it. If you have a goal, succeed. _

_ Don't let anyone tell you any different no matter who it is. Make your life the way you want it. _

_ But there is only one thing I sorely ask you to be. _

Sachiko could imagine the smile on her mother's lips.

_ Happy _ .

"Hatake Kakashi!" a woman snapped. The sound was especially strong and piercing and followed by the clack of high heels. "I expected you back  _ days  _ ago and here I find you wandering around my damn hospital! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The girl was left in awe as the prettiest blonde-haired woman strode up to them with an irritated scowl on her red painted lips. Her arms were crossed over her chest, glaring pointedly at the man who shrunk away from her aura of rage.

"I was... busy?"

" _ Bullshit. _ "

"Er, Sachiko-san! Why don't you introduce yourself to the lovely Tsunade-sama here?" he asked. He had both his hands planted on her shoulders as he placed her between himself and the angry ex-Hokage to whom she stared at with wide eyes.

"H-Hello, ma'am. I'm Sachiko a-and I'll be staying in Konoha from n-now on. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-sama!" she greeted with a respectful bow. Tsunade peered down at her with a raised brow, some of her rage washing away.

"No surname?" 

Sachiko cast a questioning glance at Kakashi, and he nodded. "It's, um, Haruno, ma'am."

The woman stiffened at the obvious implication towards the person she still had a hard time uttering the name of. But the unease was soon masked with more subdued irritation.

"What a coincidence. I used to have an apprentice with the same name. Didn't think it was too common around these parts," she said. Sachiko shuffled from foot to foot, her eyes looking at every spot on the floor.

"My... My mother was your apprentice."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "I've only had two. Kato Shizune and—"

"—Haruno Sakura," Sachiko interrupted quietly. "She was my mother."

Blazing hazel eyes stared her down for a few moments before they were raised to stare at the jounin. "I don't appreciate jokes like these,  _ Kakashi _ ," she seethed. He evenly met her gaze as his grip on Sachiko's shoulders tightened ever so slightly.

"I'd never put her at the brunt of a joke, Tsunade-sama," he said. "See Shizune for confirmation if you won't believe us, but this... is Sakura's daughter. She'll be my ward for the time being, but I think it's fair you find out before we decide to tell Sasuke and Naruto."

It was suffice to say that she'd stop listening to Kakashi's tirade once she got a good long look at the little girl who quivered at the uncomfortable attention. Her hair was cut the same way Sakura's had been in her teenage years, and was dressed as any normal civilian was.

"...You can't..." She raised her head. "... I'm going to finish my rounds in the hospital," Tsunade said. She swept her eyes away from the two and strode away from them. She didn't say another word as Sachiko ducked her head and kept it down at the woman passed. Kakashi gave her shoulders a light squeeze.

"She'll come around eventually, so don't worry yourself over it," he assured softly. "Come on. I'll show you to where you'll be staying."

She let herself be led out back into the village. There were plenty of people out on the streets this time of day, pumping a tad more anxiety through her veins as she stuck close to Kakashi. Her small town had never been full of so many people, and the constant noise that surrounded her made her unconsciously scratch her neck.

"Not taking a liking to crowds?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I think you'll get used to it with time, but I do live in the quieter parts of Konoha. There aren't as many people and the ones there will rarely bother you."

Sachiko nodded and continued to look around. Despite the numerous bodies and chatter, the village was beautiful. The buildings didn't look too old, seemingly built sometime in the last twenty years, and there were towers that reached the sky behind the Hokage Monument. Seven faces lined that mountain and the last struck a small chord with her.

Six whiskers and spiked hair.

"Hatake-san, is that Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked as she pointed upwards. Kakashi angled his head for a moment before looking down at her.

"It is. What do you know of him?"

"I knew that kaa-san loved him," she said, thinking back to everything her mother wrote about the boy who grew up to be the one Konoha loved the most. "Not really in a romantic k-kind of way, but she believed in him." Sachiko looked at her feet. "Then he killed her."

Kakashi swallowed down his guilt and gently continued guiding her down the path. He pointed out some of the popular places to eat, the library, grocery stores, clothing stores, and some of the arcades that a lot of the kids liked going to when they weren't at school. 

Sachiko had always prided herself on being one of those rare few gifted with eidetic, or photographic, memory and had already internally mapped out the streets they walked on. Every name uttered nestled in a crook of her brain and every detail was painted over her eyes.

She could not forget a thing even if she tried.

And that included her mother's words.

Before he could direct her to the apartment complex he lived in, she stopped and tugged the sleeve of his navy blue shirt. "Um... I want to look around for a little bit. To, uh, explore. Can I?" she questioned. Kakashi observed her for a moment, his stare making her hold the straps of her bag tighter, before he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't see why not. It's only natural for you to want to be familiar with your surroundings. Do you have a phone?"

She reached into her pocket and handed him a rather old modeled flip phone. Her town wasn't very rich with not very many people, so there wasn't really a need for everyone to have a phone. Her grandma had only given it to her for emergencies. He quickly punched in what she assumed was his number, then handed it back.

"I'll pick you up at this spot at around seven. If I don't see you, I'll give you a call," he said with a crinkle to his eye. She avoided looking at the friendly expression and watched as he disappeared into thin air. One of those simple shinobi tricks, probably.

But no matter. She didn't ask for the time alone simply so that she could go 'explore' like she told him. As he was showing her around the village, she saw the signs that pointed to graveyard and the Fourth Shinobi World War Monument that had been finished nearly ten years ago. Konoha's grandeur hardly had any weight against what she sought to do.

She was going to finally meet her mother.

Though first, she would go buy momen tofu from the store she passed a block behind her.

Sachiko made her way towards there, clutching her bag to herself and keeping to the edge of the streets to avoid meeting anyone's eye. What she failed to see was the mother and daughter that brushed passed her.

Both wore matching glasses, the little girl with black hair and the mother with red, and with matching uchiwa fan symbols on their backs.

::

Naruto stretched his arms over his head as he made his way to the War Monument. It was part of his routine to pay his respects at the end of every week, some more so than others, but he still visited all the same. Sometimes Sasuke would tag along, but sometimes he'd be too caught up with his family. Especially with his little girl.

_ 'What would Sakura-chan say if she saw us now?' _

He wilted at the thought. Sasuke had his family, he had Hinata, Himawari, and Boruto, Kakashi had some sort of peace, but Sakura was the one who hadn't been able to see what she sorely wished for. It wasn't fair.

When he stepped into the designated area of the War Monument, he paused and let a wave of guilt wash over him. All the graves that rested here were the Konoha shinobi that died in the war, and the great leaf statue that stood in the center, carved from bronze and engraved with every one of their names, stood as a permanent reminder of all the deaths that could've been avoided if the war never took place.

Over 2,000 casualties in Konoha alone.

Naruto shook his head and walked by Sai's grave, offering his old friend a smile as he bent down to clean it. He stopped when he realized the grave was already cleaned and two candles stood beside it, an offering of momen tofu poised right above his name.

Someone already did it?

But... But he was the only one that came to the site regularly enough.

He got back onto his feet and paced to the actual memorial and curiously looked around for anyone that might be around. He soon found who he was looking for in the form of a young teen he'd never seen before.

"Did you come here to visit someone?"

The girl jumped and quickly spun around. She took one look at his face before skittering backwards and ducking her head so far down that he couldn't catch a glimpse of her face.

"N-Nanadaime-s-sama..." she whispered. Naruto scratched the back of his head. He'd never met anyone that was even remotely afraid of him, and if he did, it would be some opponent or enemy he'd faced in the past. He doubted this little girl was one of them.

"Yup, that's me, dattebayo!" he grinned, trying to placate her fear. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Say... were you the one who cleaned up Sai's grave and gave him his favorite food?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"So how'd you know him? You look kind of young and he passed about two years before the war ended," he said. He frowned a bit when she curled in on herself even further and shuffled back some more.

"I... I didn'..."

"Huh?"

"A... A favor... fo-for my... mo-mother..."

A shy thing, wasn't she?

"Oh. Then I guess your mom was part of the war then," he mused. Naruto strode closer to the bronze leaf memorial and ran his hands down the names of all those lost. "You know, I always wish that I could've saved more people. I know a lot of people were saved, but so many people sacrificed themselves to bring peace." He traced one name burned so far into his memory with a calloused finger. "But... there was one person I have this hope that she'd one day come back to us. Like she'd never gone in the first place—Haruno Sakura-chan. The best damn battle medic, don't tell Baa-chan that, and one of my closest friends."

Naruto didn't see the way the girl tensed up.

"I regret what happened that day," he told her quietly. "She threw herself in the middle of a fight to stop it. She saved so many people over the years, I found out a little later. Shinobi, civilians, everyone. I still don't know why she..." He sighed. "That was years ago. But still, Sakura-chan's always gonna be a hero. No matter what."

Naruto turned to ask the stranger a few more questions, but stopped when he felt the anger roll off her like a punch to the gut. Her hands gripped her shirt almost to the point of tearing, and the quiet voice she used with him turned into something as piercing as metal scraping bone.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" she growled. "Haruno Sakura: the hero. Haruno Sakura: the savior. Haruno Sakura: the one who died because she loved everyone. I never met her... How come I've never met her, but I know her better than any of you do?!"

Her head shot up.

"You and Sasuke were her teammates! She believed in you! She believed in both of you! You became Konoha's Golden Boy and Sasuke was redeemed, but what about her?! What about Sakura?! Do you still think she did what she did because she loved you?!"

Naruto didn't know what it was that caught him with ice in his stomach; the fact that someone he never knew was breaking down and accusing him, or the fact that whoever this was had the exact same eyes of the person he still had nightmares of losing.

"She's not a hero—she  _ needed  _ one!" the girl cried. "She was scared and alone and thought she'd never be good enough! Why don't you know that?! You thought she sacrificed herself for peace? She didn't! No one saw she was tired! No one saw she gave up! Everyone thought she was okay but she wasn't!" Her cheeks were red with anger and glistening with the unending tears. "If she was okay, she'd still be here! She'd talk to me! Tell me stories about her life! Tell me how much she loved me! But now I only get to read those things in the  _ suicide letter _ she left for me!"

The ice in his stomach crept up to his lungs.

"Why didn't you help her, Naruto?! Why didn't anyone?!" she sobbed. "Now it's because of you and Sasuke and Kakashi and all those other people who knew her but didn't see what she'd become!" she shouted. "It's because of you that I never knew my mother!"

She bolted out of the memorial, leaving the Hokage numb and blood pumping mercilessly in his ears.

"Your... mother...?"

::

Tenten was cleaning the outside of her weapon's shop when she heard quiet sniffling. Curious, she walked to the shadowed alleyway and saw the girl she met not too long ago sitting on the ground with her legs to her chest and her head in her knees.

"Sachiko-san, right?" she asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Sachiko raised her head a tad to rub her eyes with the cloth of her shirt. It took three seconds for her to raise her eyes to meet the woman's kind brown ones. It took another three seconds for Tenten to see that she looked both angry and miserable from whatever prompted her to run away and take refuge in an alley.

And it took the next five whole seconds to realize Sachiko's eyes were no longer green.

::

_To be continued in Omake V: Haruno_

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	46. Those Who Knew No Better

**Warning: Implied self-harm, implied suicide attempt, and implied rape.**

**Rated M to be safe.**

::

The mission had an undefined length of time, but they expected to get back before the Chuunin Exams began a little under two months away. Sakura wasn't complaining in the slightest and was almost giddy as she, Ibiki, and Genma spent the first few days since their departure on a high-speed run towards Wind Country's border. It felt so nice to not keep much of her skill at bay or have to worry about her friends seeing what she was truly capable of.

She had to thank her lucky stars for having those two around to back her up when she needed them most. It almost seemed to lessen the weight on her shoulders.

Almost.

They settled down at an inn a day away from Sunagakure where Ibiki and Genma immediately sat Sakura down to lay out the rules of the mission.

"So for the first two weeks, Morino and I have to meet up with the client. We asked to bring you along, they said no for security reasons and yadda yadda yadda, so you're stuck in this town for that whole time," Genma began. He pointed at the cheeky grin that was slowly blooming on her face. "Don't give me that look. We're laying out six rules that you're going to follow or else we're kicking your ass all the way back to Konoha. Capiche?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out, causing Ibiki to roll his eyes as he explained the first rule.

"Rule One: No drugs. That means no sleeping pills, no chakra enhancers, no blood pills, no soldier pills, or any stuff of that kind. If I have even the slightest suspicion that you used any when we get back, I'm taking you to the nearest clinic to have you tested."

"Rule Two: No fights no matter how much the other side deserves it," Genma said. He cocked his head after thinking for a few seconds. "Unless you really can't help it. But you better win or I'm having Anko double your training when we get back."

"Rule Three: No dealings with strangers. No side missions, no suspicious items, and no plotting to do something stupid. I think you've met your quota for that for the time being," Ibiki told her. She raised an eyebrow and he returned it with the 'I'm watching you' gesture. The senbon-wielding shinobi crossed his arms and went on with the next one.

"Rule Four: Don't break the law under  _ any  _ circumstances," he order. He then lowered his voice and scooted a little closer to her. "If you don't get caught, it's not illegal."

Ibiki smacked him upside the head. "Rule Five: No quarrels with other nations," he continued, uncaring of the pout Genma gave him. "And I mean it. Konoha doesn't need another war."

Sakura looked positively offended. "What am I, a criminal?"

"Close enough to one. Now shut up, we're not done with the list."

"And last but not least, Rule Six: Don't leave the town! Which we all know you're probably going to do anyway, but at least be here when we get back and we won't ask any questions," Genma finished. "Seriously though, stay safe. Successful missions technically require you to be  _ alive. _ "

She mock saluted them. "Don't get in trouble, mind my own business, and don't die. I think I got it," she said. Her sensei took their unpacked bags and opened the door to leave the room.

"Take care of yourself, kid!"

"Follow the rules or you're grounded."

She flopped down onto the ground at the table with a sigh as they took their leave. Ibiki and Genma... being with them was so different. They trusted her through and through and knew her well enough to impose rules but be lenient enough with them that they worked. They never questioned her motives and even if they worried about what she did, they understood her.

_ They  _ would have never suspended her even if they had the chance.

"What have I told you about those frowns? Honestly, you never listen," someone huffed. 

::

Sakura didn't bat an eyelash at the man who took a seat opposite her, flashing her a cheeky smile. "Don't you think your leader's going to get mad at all the absences you're taking?"

"It's not like I'm doing anything wrong," Sasori drawled. "Unlike someone who thinks it's okay to throw their life this way and that, but you know, it's not like I know anyone like that, do I?"

She glared. He reached over the table to flick her nose. "But that's not why I'm here. How much free time do you have until they get back?"

"About two weeks."

"Good. Then we can go on an adventure," he nodded. Sakura chuckled at his childishness as she pulled out her weapons to inspect them. Sasori narrowed his eyes slightly.

Getting a good look at her now as a ten year old paired horribly with heavy bags under her eyes and a defeated droop to her shoulders, he was starting to see there was more than to what she told him about what happened to her that time ago.

They'd been back for five years, but she still hadn't gotten any better than she'd been before. If he had anything to say about it, it was like she was getting worse.

He just couldn't let that be anymore.

"Hey, Sakura."

She inclined her head to show that she was listening.

"Those twelve hours he spent... torturing... you, he didn't do just  _ that _ , did he?" he asked. A shot of ice went up her spine. "I know I shouldn't be talking about this and I know it's not something you'd willingly want to discuss with me, much less anyone else, but I mean... There's more to it, isn't there?"

Sakura didn't move from her position propping her chin up on the low table. In turn, he kept his eyes glued to the town outside to give her at least some form of comfort to gather her thoughts.

"... No. It wasn't just those twelve hours. It wasn't even just the war."

His eyebrows furrowed as his confusion forced him to observe her further. "What?"

"Everything started much earlier than that. Had it  _ just _ been Obito, I think I could've built myself back up to who I was before the incident by now. But... Sasori, you have to understand..."

He didn't like the empty look on her face. It looked too familiar, like he was staring into one of his puppets.

"When I first tried to kill myself, I was thirteen years old."

It was something she'd never admitted to anyone before. Even speaking those words to someone who wasn't herself left a revolting taste at the end of her tongue. Completely precedented, of course. She was never proud of the things she'd done mostly then and sometimes now. And at the pained expression her friend was giving her, it acted as a startling reminder to why she never told anyone else before.

"If it’s too much for you, you don't need to tell me," he said. Sakura shook her head.

"No. I've been running away from this for too long and I think it's finally time someone knew... why."

He nodded, waiting for her to take that bated breath and tell her story.

::

Haruno Sakura was six years old.

When she stumbled home from the park, she told her mama that she wanted to join the Shinobi Academy.

"Why do you want to do that, Ra-chan?" Mama asked her. "Yesterday you told me you wanted to help all the kids at the hospital I volunteer at. What made you change your mind?"

Nothing had changed. She still wanted to help people, but she also wanted to be strong. She was tired of all the other kids talking about her big forehead and her stupid pink hair, and she hated the fact that she wasted her tears on those no-good bullies. If she joined the Academy, then that meant she would be able to protect herself and others just like her.

But again, she was only six, so her answer was as simple as they came.

"I wanna be a hero, mama!"

::

Haruno Sakura was eleven years old. 

As she got home from class, she went straight up to her room and slammed the door behind her. Mom was at work and so was dad, so no one was there to ask what was wrong or why she was having such a bad day at school. That sounded selfish, but she couldn't help herself. There wasn't anyone she could go talk to anymore.

She'd just broken her friendship with Ino over a boy, now realizing what a mistake she made.

It was what her mother told her time and time again. Sakura was as stubborn as they came and wouldn't swallow down her pride no matter how wrong she was. Her pride-- why would she rid of it? Didn't her parents or Ino know how hard it was for her to gain it?!

That pride helped her stand up to Ami and her gang.

That pride made her satisfied in her intellect because of her severe lack in her physical abilities.

That pride pushed her into confidence in her vanity when there was nothing else she could be proud of.

But... But she loved Sasuke-kun!

"And because of it, I ruined everything," she sniffed. "She was the only real friend I ever had, and now I'm back to none." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old red ribbon. "Well... I guess I deserve it. This is what I get for acting like a weak, whiny little—"

She shoved her face into her pillow, quiet sobs filling the room.

::

"Now that I hear myself saying it, I suppose that's where my self-deprecating thoughts started. Eleven year olds don't know shit about life and things like that would be brushed off as some childish nonsense. I was told I'd grow out of it. But I didn't."

He felt something similar to those feelings when he had to go through those stages in the Void. The memories were far from pleasant, but it took him much longer to deal with the life (or afterlife) that was thrust upon him. 

It took her the eight years after his death to realize it was all hopeless.

For him, it was the better part of eighty.

_ Sixteen years he spent denying where his soul was dumped. Despite the place looking like no other on earth and the voice that spoke to him only once since he got there, it took him so long to believe it that he didn't feel the anger building in him until it was too late. _

_ Right at the closure of the sixteenth year, he lost it. His rage boiled over and he turned his anger over to his seclusion. A perk of being dead was that he never grew tired or found the need to calm himself down. He was  _ pissed _ , and he had every reason to be. Where was he? Why did he end up here? Why wouldn't anyone give him any answers? _

_ At the mark of his thirtieth year in the Void, he realized that there was no getting out. The fact only refueled his anger for the next six years. _

_ As thirty-six years passed, there was a moment when he finally collapsed onto his knees and breathed out a plea. _

_ "Tell me what you want from me..." he whispered. "Please, just say it." _

_ But he didn't receive an answer. _

_ "I'll give you whatever you want. I'll repent my wrongs. I'll clean up my act- make a grave for every single person I killed! Just tell me what you want and I'll do it!" _

_ Nothing. _

_ His bargains fell on deaf ears for the next twelve years. _

Sasori brought himself back to the present and continued to listen.

::

Haruno Sakura was twelve years old.

She passed the Academy with her flawless execution of a textbook jutsu and the immensely high scores she received on every single written assignment and class presentation. She was even put on a team alongside the boy of her dreams!

So why was she sitting miserably on the sidelines of the training grounds as Sasuke and Naruto sparred?

Oh. Right. Because she realized a bookworm with useless talents had no place beside the powerhouses that made up the rest of Team Seven. She was starting to think that this all was a mistake from the very beginning with the placement of the teams to the hope that the others persisted with them.

What was Hokage-sama thinking? No disrespect intended, but couldn't help but think the only reason they were slotted together to fit some mold they knew nothing about. Hokage-sama mentioned it a few times before: a cold prodigy, a clever kunoichi, and a hopeless fool...

Gah! Who was she kidding, trying to make up excuses for herself? She was weak and that was the end of it!

Weak, incompetent, stupid, unproductive, pointless—

"You're looking awfully angry there. Something the matter?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face into her knees. She could always count on her sensei to show up when she definitely didn't want to see him. "It's nothing."

"Maa, how's it nothing? You're glaring at the ground like it’s wronged you instead of doing those chakra exercises I instructed earlier," Kakashi hummed. He took a seat on the grass beside her, his infamous  _ Icha Icha _ residing in his hands. Sakura pursed her lips as she yanked some green blades from the earth.

"... I wasn't supposed to be a kunoichi, huh?" she muttered. "I only graduated because I'm smart, but I've got nothing else to show for it."

She saw him set his book down in her peripheral vision.

"Hey now, where's all this coming from? Is this because of the mission in Nami no Kuni? It was your first time seeing a fight like that and you couldn't be blamed-"

"But it  _ was  _ my fault!" she exclaimed. "While Sasuke-kun and Naruto fought for their lives, I  _ stood  _ there and did  _ nothing _ ! I'm worthless to the team!"

And her worthlessness wasn't the only thing that completely removed her from the image of being a good kunoichi. Kunoichi were supposed to be strong yet compassionate, tough but kind, reserved but understanding. They were supposed to be liked within a shinobi community due to their skill and disposition.

But she wasn't like those kunoichi.

Sakura was a  _ raging bitch. _ She knew that.

She'd snap at people, pass the blame, fawn over boys instead of doing what she was supposed to, and would be constantly whining. She even had more enemies than friends! What the hell kind of Konoha kunoichi was that, having an attitude that called for everyone else to hate her for it?

"I'm no good, sensei, and I won't ever be. People always keep telling me to quit because I'll never be strong. They're right."

A heavy hand took hold of her shoulder, forcing her to look up. Kakashi's exposed eye looked just as serious as it had been during his battles with Zabuza. There was no disappointment or anger in its dark depth, but a stare like he'd been been expecting a similar declaration sooner or later.

"You're only a genin, Sakura. You still have a whole road ahead of you. If you end up quitting, all you're going to do is prove them right and let yourself down. The only way to get stronger is if you keep trying. Okay?"

Sakura pressed her lips together and nodded. With a slight pat to her shoulder, Kakashi stood up and stashed his book in his pouch. He began to walk over and check up on Naruto and Sasuke's spar when she called up to him.

"U-Um, thank you!"

He glanced back. "For?"

"It's just... I... Thank you for being my sensei," she smiled. His eye crinkled in the same way it always did.

"Be sure not to take to long before doing those exercises, Sakura."

She bobbed her head and watched him walk away. She settled back onto the grass, the wind picking up a bit to brush her bangs over her eyes. It wasn't a lie that she was thankful for having having him as a teacher.

Kakashi couldn't have been more sweet, lying to her like that to boost her confidence.

Her hand slid into her kunai pouch and reached until her fingers brushed up against a thin metal rectangle at the very bottom. It couldn't be more than 43 mm (1 11/16 in) in length and 22 mm (7/8 in) height, recently cleaned and sharpened so that the two longest edges were ready to be used when needed.

Not only was she thankful for her teacher, but also for the fact it was so easy to hide thighs from everyone else.

::

Haruno Sakura was thirteen years old.

Sasuke left, leaving her on a bench no matter how much she ran her voice hoarse trying to get him to stay. She pleaded—begged for him to stay in Konoha. For the team.

_ With her. _

And all she got in the end was a headache and a sore pressure point. Days later, she was gifted with another one of Sasuke's delightful little gifts:

Naruto half dead with their old teammate's hitai-ate unable to be pried from his cold, bloody hands.

How could she go and let this happen? If she was stronger, even just a little more than her being a sorry excuse of a kunoichi, then maybe she could've done something about it. Naruto promised her that he'd bring Sasuke back, and she selfishly believed him, having him return losing more than what he left with.

_ And she stayed back because she'd do nothing more than drag the rest of them down. _

Those thoughts landed herself in front of her bathroom mirror. She had just come back from the hospital in a daze with no real direction of where to turn to next, nor a person in mind she could go and talk to. What was she going to say—she felt bad because she did jack shit?

She deserved no sympathy!

And she sure as hell didn't deserve Naruto coming back with the grim reaper knocking on his front door.

In her stupor, she failed to realize that her hand crept down to her kunai pouch to take hold of that thin metal rectangle.

And she pressed it against her neck—

::

Sasori's jaw shifted at this new piece of information.

"Did you actually try to...?"

"No," she sighed, shaking her head. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I didn't make the cut. I actually had a bit of hope back then. Hard to believe, I know. It wasn't until much later in the war that I actually gave up."

He had already felt guilty when she first arrived at the Void. Sasori never had any real animosity towards her, only the bitterness of losing against an opponent. Now, he knew why he felt bad for her then and why it drew out until the moment between them now.

He was sorry that she was back. She never wanted a do-over or a chance to redeem herself from the things she'd done.

All she wanted was to finally be happy.

::

—but then she snapped out of it. She took one look at the razor blade poised in her fingers and dropped it into the sink like it burned her.

"No..." she whispered. Her voice shook warily. "I can't... I can't! I still... have to  _ try. _ "

::

Haruno Sakura was fourteen years old.

"Come on! Is that the best you've got? I know Academy students that can run faster than that!" Tsunade barked. Sakura grit her teeth and pushed herself to run even faster around the training grounds. Her muscles screamed for her to stop and the weights on her person seemed to become heavier with each step, but she wouldn't let it keep her down.

She was going to get stronger, dammit, or she was going to die trying!

If she was able to keep away her razor blade for six months, then these laps that Tsunade was making her do didn't have shit on her! Sakura forced her legs to carry her even further, taking her through the grounds at a faster speed than what she started with, and tore through her final lap at record time.

"Not bad, not bad... But you'd be an idiot to think that we're even halfway done! Get on the lake and give me five-hundred!" her master ordered. Sakura grimaced, but did as she was told. She quickly stripped down to the underwear and poised herself on top of the lake- hands pressed onto the water- for five-hundred hand stand push ups.

She was so pumped—so determined to get stronger and prove everyone else wrong that she forgot about  _ that _ . 

Her eyes raised to her teacher to see if she was in the correct form and saw that hazel eyes were not scanning her like they usually did, but stuck on one particular part of her body: her thighs. More specifically at the pale lines that criss-crossed over each other in some sick, carefully calculated pattern.

"What are those, Sakura?"

Sakura gulped and willed herself to keep her handstand. "They're... they're really old and stuff so you don't need to worry about it. I don't do that kind of thing anymore, I promise."

Tsunade didn't look convinced but decided not to push on.

::

Haruno Sakura was fifteen years old.

Naruto was like a ray of hope for her. He was like the brightest sun, always too far away for her to reach but shining enough for everyone to see that he was destined for greatness. He'd only been gone for two years with Jiraiya, but she was already starting to miss him. Without him around, it was quieter and less fun. There was no Kakashi around to aggravate her or that blond dope to egg him on-- only her studies and the company of Tsunade and Shizune. Not that anything was wrong with that.

The day he came back was like the the ray of hope widened. He'd finally come to try and be part of a team again, and maybe with Kak—

"I've learned so many cool moves, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as they waited for their teacher by the training field. "And I'll bring Sasuke back to you, just like I promised! That way you'll be happy again!"

Her radiant thoughts faltered. "Bring him... back?"

"Yup! Isn't that what you want?" he asked.

_ 'Of course it's what I want, but... don't you see anything different about me? I've grown, I've changed, I've gotten  _ stronger _. But is Sasuke all you think I care about?' _

"Yeah," she smiled, or at least forced herself to. "It is."

::

Haruno Sakura was sixteen years old.

The war came in the blink of an eye.

One moment she was in the Yamanaka Flower Shop, talking to Ino about the new batches that had been delivered or some shady rumor that had been flitting about the village.

The next she was thrust into the position of Head Medic in the Allied Force's Main Medical Camp. She had to learn how to balance her time between healing the wounded shinobi that swarmed her sector and taking well-timed trips back to Konoha to see if they needed more medical assistance. 

The beginning was an absolute mess to get through. There was no established order or system yet with everyone simply doing as much as they could before taking care of the next batch of patients that would be shipped over.

Sakura worked diligently with every ounce of chakra and strength she could muster in those days. Because her, like everyone else, thought the whole war would blow over in a few months, maybe in half a year.

They didn't know how wrong they were.

::

Haruno Sakura was eighteen years old.

It was second year of the war. 

Shizune and a handful of others were sent to the nearest village to gather more supplies that were generously donated to their cause. That left Sakura in charge of the five medics they currently had on hand in the main camp. Luckily enough, only one or two shinobi in their care was in critical condition while everyone else had mild enough injuries.

Ino was out surveying the extension of the camp, making sure everything went according to plan. Kiba, as well as other members of the Inuzuka Clan, served as messengers between all the battlefields. But Kiba specifically delivered messages through the infirmary camp circuits. He was somewhere in the middle of the camp, resting up with Akamaru and preparing for their next round of deliveries.

Sakura stepped out of one of the tents, breathing out a deep sigh. She had just finished examining Neji and deemed him completely stable. Both his legs were broken and even with extensive healing, he wouldn't be back out for another month if he wanted both legs functioning correctly.

She stretched an arm over her head and looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened when she saw white blobs falling from the sky. They expanded on top and around the camp, creating a mile radius of those odd falling things. In the midst of them was the outline of a large bird.

_ Deidara. _

She tried to open her mouth to scream a warning, but the soft shout of triumph from the skies made her voice turn to syrup in her throat.

"Katsu!"

The next thing she knew, her vision was blurry, her ears were bleeding, and she was buried under pieces of rock and dirt. She summoned chakra to her hands and pulled herself out of the rubble.

Everything was destroyed. Everything.

And if the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach said anything...

She was probably alone as well.

_ No. She wouldn't believe it. _

Sakura limped through what was left of the camp and sought out any other survivors. Not a single person was above the rubble, making her wince at thought of everyone being crushed under the upturned dirt and charred wood.

"Please, let there be at least one... Anybody. Please!"

A hand poked out near one of the tents. Sakura rushed over as quickly as she could and dug through the wreckage with bare hands. Blood bloomed on her palms and fingers from the ferocity of her digging, but the pain was numbed. She couldn't feel a single thing.

Eventually, she found someone. Long blonde hair. Purple outfit. Sakura placed her hand on the idle body and felt for a pulse. Nothing.

And that's how Shizune and the rest of the supply group found her—in the midst of destruction, a body cradled her arms, and mouth turned upwards: screaming curses at the sky.

::

"I really understood what war was when that happened. War was never good and both sides had to lose lives in order for one to come out on top. It might be kind of late for this, but I'm glad you hadn't stuck around to be in it. Not that Chiyo-baa-sama and I wanted to kill you, but you know how it is," she chuckled. The sound was the farthest noise from happiness.

"You're glad for me?  _ You  _ were the one who had to live through it."

Her expression darkened. "And I should've ended with it. I guess that neither of us got what we really wanted in the end. You didn't get eternity and I didn't get to die."

He steeled himself to not try and tell her that yes, even if they didn't get what they desired, they were supposed to be happy that fate decided to let them try again. Not to change anything, like he told her before, but to finally have a life worth living.

_ Everything was useless. _

_ Forty-eight years had come and gone and he was still stranded in a cloudy blue that he was slowly getting repulsed by. He begged and bargained for twelve whole years, but no one would answer. At the end, there was no point. _

_ He was going to be stuck here forever-- suffocating in whatever void of a hell this was. _

_ And so Sasori sat in the same spot for the next twenty-five years doing the only thing he'd been allowed to do since he'd got there. _

_ Think. _

But he couldn't, because he knew that she didn't believe in herself enough for it.

::

Haruno Sakura was twenty years old.

She landed in a clearing between Konoha and the Main Medical Camp. There were no Allies in a five kilometer radius of her position. It was dangerous to be in such a place all on her own, but she had no choice. Sakura had been the only one available to contain a small plague that spread through a sixth of the village.

"You're Haruno Sakura, aren't you? The Godaime's darling apprentice."

She turned around and saw the man at the helm of all the madness. "So what if I am?" Sakura snarled. "Someone like you ain't got shit on me!"

Obito laughed, half insane half heartily. Black flames surrounded them—burning down trees and grass and filling the air with the Devil's breath. He slid into an offensive position and held out a tanto before him.

"Didn't your mentor tell you to not be naive? Or maybe Kakashi didn't lecture you hard enough. I'm your worst enemy, sweetheart."

"What, because you've got pretty black flames surrounding us? Your scare tactic won't work when I get over there and bring you down!"  

Obito laughed again. "Oh, Sakura-chan. Then I suppose I'll take this time to teach you the reason why your parents told you not to play with fire."

She lunged.

Two hours later, and the fire was still sky high. Darkness everywhere... horrible, burning darkness. The ground was torn to pieces, and one could barely call it a battle ground. Obito was at one end, leaning against the tree while holding his stomach and holding his fractured leg. Sakura was at the other end on her hands and knees, blood coating her fingers.

She hated sharingan fire. Hated it. Hated that it couldn't be put out no matter what you did, and you had to remove what it was burning to get rid of it, because it only gets put out when it's finished burning what it's on.

And that's how she ended up with a neck coated in red liquid and a pile of burning skin hurled to the side.

Obito scoffed. "You're more like Tsunade than I thought."

Sakura raised her head, black lines crawling down her face. "More than you know.”

Devastation couldn't even begin to describe the landscape. It had looked extremely ugly before, but now it looked as if a meteorite shattered the Earth and left dark flames as it's mark on the surface. Sakura lay at the center of all the wreckage with low chakra and barely any will to move.

She fought her hardest. She attacked him as brutally as she could. She used every ounce of knowledge given to her the past years of her life.

_... Why wasn't it enough? _

Obito limped over to her with a haggard appearance and blood smeared across his body. His mouth was twisted in an enraged expression. He crouched down, placing a knee on her stomach and a hand on her freshly healed throat.

"You just turned out to be an annoyance, didn't you?" he hissed. "Impairing my health and delaying my plans... I should kill you for this." His hand tightened. "But I won't. It won't do this inconvenience any justice." Obito leaned forward, their noses almost touching and their harsh breath mingling together. He smirked. "At least you're a pretty little thing. You're a virgin, aren't you?"

He laughed when her face contorted into pure horror.

"What am I asking? It won't matter when I'm done with you."

Obito titled his head innocently, like a child idly observing an anomaly. That cruel grin surfaced as his fingers caressed her collarbone. They traveled up, latching onto the collar of her shirt.

"Sakura-chan," he purred. "Are you afraid of me?" He shoved her onto the ground. "Rin. Did Kakashi ever talk about her?"

One gloved hand grabbed a fistful of hair while the other started undoing her green vest. Sakura clawed at his hands and hissed, trying desperately to kick him off her but unable to muster enough strength to do anything about it.

"She was a medic, just like you. She cared for her comrades and ensured our safety." His grin turned a little less vicious and a little more bitter.

"No one was there to save her," he murmured. "Just like how no one's here to save you."

The twelve hours of torture began.

Her throat burned. Not just from the skin that was ripped off, but also from the exhaustion of her incessant snarls and enraged resistance. Obito still had her pinned to her ground, unconcerned with the scratch marks on his cheeks and forearms.

"Pathetic."

"Shut the fuck up."

She wheezed when he increased pressure on her chest. Her vision went blurry for a split second before refocusing on his cruel crimson eyes. She could see the reflection of fire in his irises as they lit up in glee.

"Now, now, Sakura-chan. No need to be so rude. We've already... connected, haven't we?" He leaned forward so that the tip of their noses were nearly touching. "Or should I enlighten you again?"

She spat in his face. He ignored it before continuing with what he was already doing.

"Isn't this fun?"

"Stop... ghk... talking... monST—"

A hand pressed onto Sakura's mouth to stop her screams.

"Not so high and mighty now are you?" Obito sneered, fingers digging into Sakura's bleeding, skinless neck. Even with pain filling her from her head to her toes, she looked up at him with teary eyes and mustered up the strength to spit in his face.

"Fuck... you..."

He laughed. "Haven't you already?"

And the black fire swirled around them, with blistering heat seeping into the hatred that emanated between them. She could see the darkness growing in her peripheral vision, slowly crawling from tree to tree and darkening--

"My sharingan is more advanced than others, you know," he started conversationally. "I had years of nothing to do but make it better. More effective. I can perform the Amaterasu and a special genjutsu I've been working on for some time now, and the latter is something I'm quite supremely proud of. One session lasts three seconds in reality and forty hours mentally."

He gave her a small smile. "At the capacity I'm at now, I can deliver five sessions."

With that, his eyes spun and she was taken away from the world of darkness into one of blood red skies. Sakura found herself hefted onto a cross eerily similar to the one in the Tsukuyomi and was faced with a large white screen that was everywhere her eyes turned to.

"I want you to watch, Sakura-chan." His voice was displaced, floating everywhere but never in one place. "For forty hours, I want you to look at your memories."

She could feel his grin against her skin.

"And I want you to see how no one in your life really needed you."

When she was pushed back into reality after that indescribable experience that tore her heart out over and over and over again, she was once again looking into a pair of mocking eyes.

"Dear, dear, Sakura-chan... you've performed so well for me. You did good. Better than good. You're making me not want to stop."

The tears were fresh on her face. "Please... s-stop..."

Obito laughed, deep baritone swirling around the fire that surrounded them. "Begging? I never pegged you for the type to stoop so low," he sighed. "But I suppose it's expected. I'll just continue our little get together until you don't have anymore tears to spare."

He continued taunting her for several hours upon end. Her screams rang but were never answered and every two hours that passed by, he pulled her into another one of the same genjutsu that dug into her brain and pulled out the words and voices of the people she loved, telling her that she was never needed. Never wanted. Never looked out for.

At the cusp of the twelfth hour, Obito's expression glittered.

"Maybe I should've put you through Tsukuyomi. But then again, I don't think I'd be having as much fun as I am now. Why just hurt someone mentally when you can do it physically as well?" Obito grinned. He waited for that haughty retort—that wrathful counter that kept him going to inflict more and more pain on her. But there was nothing. He looked into her eyes and saw that they were blank.

Dead.

And it made him want to laugh.

"So you give up here? Twelve hours into our quaint get together?"

Dulled green eyes flickered to his. "Why don't you just kill me already, Uchiha? You've won. You've had your fill."

He raised an eyebrow. "Had my fill?" he repeated, flashing pearly white teeth. "No, no. I don't think you understand. Breaking people is my hobby, Sakura-chan. I don't just 'have my fill'. There's a reason why it's this place. There's a reason why there's this fire. And there's definitely a reason why it's you. "

He leaned down until their noses touched.

"Ripping walls apart is hard nowadays, making the prize sweeter than you could ever imagine. I was at a loss at what I should've gone to do during the war. Make some chaos, yes. Murder whoever comes into my path, it's only half as fun as you'd think. But when you take on an individual, especially one of the driving forces of the opposing cause... Then you get something interesting."

His eyes glinted with something predatory.

"I'll make sure to drive you insane. It won't matter if I lose the war, nor when the Allies execute me. In the future, you'll be desperate for freedom from your memories. From your failures. From me. I won't kill you now. Because I know for a fact that in the midst of smiles and celebration... with Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, or whoever else that hasn't already died..."

Obito gently stroked her face—mockingly, with a pityingly disgusting smile on his face.

"... I'll be able to see your pretty face again when you do the honors yourself."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and disappeared.

Sakura lay there for a solid three hours before she picked herself up, gathered the remains of her clothes, and dragged herself to the nearest place she could find shelter. Her eyes stayed blank even as she cleaned herself up and arrived back at the camp a day late. She made up a simple excuse of having been held up with the illness back home and resumed with her duties.

No one saw that the light had disappeared from her eyes.

::

Sasori looked absolutely horrified.

"Everything... just kept piling up and wouldn't stop. What I did to myself when I was younger, my worthlessness, the war, the death, the rape, Obito's words about how I was never anything to anyone. Then it kept getting worse," she said. Her bottom lip started to tremble. "It wouldn't leave me  _ alone _ ."

::

Haruno Sakura was twenty-one years old.

When her stomach began showing, she started wearing baggier clothes and dismissed her morning sickness as a reaction to the rations. No one thought any different. A couple months in when clothes could no longer mask it, she cast a small genjutsu over herself to keep up her normal appearance. No one noticed.

"Konoha was attacked!"

An uproar spread through the medical unit like wildfire, but Sakura kept her mouth uncharacteristically shut as she continued her duties. The war had reached the middle of its fifth year and Sai had just been killed. When told of it, Sakura looked blank-faced despite the despair that surged through her body.

Hands down, she was hopeless. This wasn't a war any longer, this was a worldwide graveyard and everyone she held dear were dying off one by one.

It only made her wonder when she'd be next.

"Haruno-sensei, the casualty list!" a shinobi informed, presenting her with a thick collection of papers. She sat down at her makeshift desk and scanned through the list. She would have to make a distinction between shinobi and civilian to account how much of their forces they'd lost. It was near the end of the stack when she noticed two names that only tacked onto losing Sai.

_ Haruno Kizashi _

_ Haruno Mebuki _

Sakura stared at the names a little longer than the rest before highlighting them in yellow and continued on her task.

The months drew on and the war went just as terrible as one could expect a worldwide devastation, but another problem had arisen on her already long list. She couldn't give birth at the camp. For one, the questions would be too much and two, she couldn't let her baby be raised for who knows how much longer in a place of sickness and death.

She considered abortion on several occasions, but...

She couldn't. This child deserved to live even if she didn't.

So nearing the time she was due to go into labor, Sakura slipped out of the camp undetected and looked for a place she could leave her little soul to grow where they didn't have to worry.

She was lucky to have found such a place in a small town on Fire Country's border.

::

Haruno Sakura was twenty-two years old.

She had just gotten word of the casualty list from the front lines on the Wind Country Battlefront. Thirty shinobi died at the hands of a mass surge of resurrected fire shinobi—each of the bodies burned to a crisp and left with no chance of survival.

Akimichi Chouji and Rock Lee were two of such people on that list.

::

Haruno Sakura was twenty-three years old.

The war was won.

But Sakura found herself very close to losing hers.

::

_ Sasori felt something change in him when seventy-three years went by. The heaviness in his heart suddenly lifted and the haze of blue and silver around him no longer acted as the color of his prison, but a reminder of a sky he had long since forgotten. _

_ It didn't bother him that he was in this place anymore. If he was going to be here for the rest of his life- for eternity- he might as well go and enjoy himself. He had nothing to lose. _

_ The next seven years he spent with a smile on his face and thoughts of what his old world would've looked like by now. _

_ Until, in his eightieth year, there was a blinding light and someone appeared right beside him. It took him a moment to register who it was before an interested smile took his lips.  _

_ "Oh? To think you'd last a little longer," he mused. _

"When Sachiko was born, I was the happiest I'd ever been in a long, long time. She opened her eyes, gave me that beautiful toothless smile..." She swiped a palm at her eyes to rid of the tears that began to pour out. "She didn't deserve all that I brought on myself. From the second she was born, I had to make up for the fact that she would probably never see her mother again _. _ "

Sasori never thought he'd meet a person who hated themselves so much.

"So I did the best thing I could think of. I... I found someone who could take care of her, kept her existence a secret from absolutely everyone I knew. I left no trace for anyone to follow so Sachiko could live a peaceful life in the quiet little village on the border. She was the rest of my happiness, and I was content enough with watching her grow from afar."

And he didn't know how someone could lead a life with all that resentment of oneself bottled up so that the rest of the world couldn't see. Suddenly, the bags under her eyes and the sleepless nights made sense. It wasn't just the memories that kept her up at night, but also the thought that she didn't deserve even a little bit of peace as the days went by.

"Then one day when she was two years old, I watched her play with her toys. Then at one moment, she stopped and looked at Yuka-san. Do you know what she did?" Sakura was shaking now, even more tears running cascades down her cheeks. Sasori slowly shook his head. "She asked why Mama was never there. She asked what she did wrong, because she must have done something wrong to make Mama not love her. She was two years old.  _ Two _ ! And she was already thinking things like that. How could I tell her that... th-that..." 

Sasori felt an unfamiliar burning sensation prickle at the back of his eyes. Tears. He couldn't remember the last time he let himself get to the point where actual  _ tears  _ threatened to fall.

"How could I tell her that I couldn't stay because I was fighting a war I couldn't win?! How could I ever say to her that I was her mother when I'd just come to terms that nothing made me want to live anymore, not even her?!" she cried. "How could I tell her I was never there for her because I was too scared that she would turn into someone like  _ me _ ?!"

She sobbed into her hands.

"I... I can never make it u-up to her now. Now... Now I'll n-never see her again, and I-I'll never get the chance to tell her how I-I'm so sorry..."

Haruno Sakura's soul was twenty-eight years old.

And she knew she'd never become the hero—

No.

—the _person_ her six year old self wanted to be.

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	47. Information

"Why're we at the hospital again?" Naruto whined. "We were here for so long and we did all those stupid check ups already!"

Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at their sensei. He too was tired seeing those white walls and smelling alcohol and antiseptic. And Sakura wasn't even here with them.

"For the past month, you were being treated for your injuries and made sure that there were no lingering effects of the attacks. Here, you're taking an official mental health screening. And before you start complaining about it, every shinobi has to go through this at one point of their lives," Kakashi answered. They took the elevator to the psychiatric floor.

"So I guess Sakura-chan doesn't have to go through this, huh? Since she already has a shrink and all," Naruto hummed. Kakashi signed their names on the sheet on the receptionist's desk, running the boy's words through his head. He nearly forgot that she was already seeing a therapist for reasons still unknown to him, but he supposed she still had to go through the standard proceedings.

"Either way, she can't do it until she gets back from her mission."

"Oh yeah."

Kakashi's hand stilled as he slowly looked over his shoulder. "What do you mean ' _ mission _ '?" he questioned softly, a rigidness forming at the edge of every syllable. "She's supposed to be kept away from missions, not commissioned to them when I'm not around."

Naruto growled and stepped forward, defiance flickering in the depths of his eyes. "So what?! Why do you care anyways?!" he snapped. "You're the one who kicked her off the team in the first place so you're not in charge of her anymore! Sakura-chan can go do whatever the hell she wants, dattebayo!"

"You're not in any position to question my authority, Naruto. You saw that she disrespected my orders and she needs to be punished for her insubordination."

"So what? As of right now, you're not her sensei so you don't get to say what she can or can't do. Leave her alone," Sasuke bit out. Kakashi held his temple between his fingers and let out a sigh. He was right about the fact they'd be more than upset about what he'd done, but he didn't anticipate the continuous headache it would cause him.

"It was necessary."

"No it wasn't!" Naruto shrilled. "She saved someone and you told her she was wrong! If she never comes back to the team, I won't blame her! She deserves a better sensei than you'll ever be!!"

"Naruto-kun, loud arguments aren't good for the patients here."

He dropped his head as soon as someone rounded the corner and pinned him down with a chiding look. "Sorry, Inoichi-san."

"That's fine," he sighed. "Just don't do it again. Imagine the trouble you'd be in if Sakura was here."

Kakashi noted the familiarity with a slight downturn to his lips, not that anyone could see it. His team was quite familiar with many of the main families, it seemed, and while it was strategic it was also strange. How many clans did they interact with? Were they on good terms? Bad? How were they all intertwined?

He'd been so busy documenting and trying to find a solution to his students' new problems that he still hadn't gotten a chance to look at any of their files.

"Hatake-san, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with these two. If it helps, I gave my permission for her to go," Inoichi said. Kakashi's eyes hardened.

"You're her therapist."

"The only one she’s ever had. And as her therapist, I suggest you read up on her information before you, ahem,  _ pursue  _ with her suspension. If you know what's good for you," he smiled, adopting the phrase Sakura had used in their sessions many times in the past. "I can take Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun for their appointments if you want to read up on what you've been missing out."

"Yeah! All you're doing is making stupid decisions because you don't know what the hell you're talking about!! I oughtta—!!"

Inoichi clamped his hand over the boy's mouth and looked up to see that Kakashi was already gone.

::

"I request access to Haruno Sakura's complete dossier, sir."

The Godaime looked up from the report he was writing. Kakashi held a frazzled appearance that Dan had never seen in the younger man before, but he supposed he wasn't surprised. Ever since he'd been assigned his team of early graduates, there was an unexplainable difference to him that no one could quite put their finger on.

Dan laced his fingers together.

"If I recall correctly, you told me that you refused to read any information on them unless an emergency occurred," he said. "But you did not seek it out the entire time she was in the hospital nor during your decision to suspend her. Give me one good reason I should grant you this privilege."

Kakashi was taken aback at the show of coldness in his Hokage's eyes. Dan was a popular Kage due to his openness and unparalleled compassion and was never once seen without a kindness to his face. Seeing him in such a light sent an uneasiness down his spine.

"I made a mistake, sir, and I wish to amend it," Kakashi answered. The other didn't look too convinced.

"And if you can't?"

"... I have to try."

Dan returned his attention his report. "Go to the T&I building. You'll find what you're looking for in there."

With an odd regard, the jounin reluctantly left to the place he tried to keep from setting foot in. It was minutes after his departure when Shizune decided to speak up.

"I still don't understand why you sent Team Kakashi on that mission, ji-san," she commented from his side. "You and Yagura-san knew the politics of that country but sent the teams you did unaware of what they were getting into. Sakura-san  _ nearly died  _ because of that mission!"

Dan averted his gaze to some other papers on his desk. "I am far from proud of the actions I decided to take with that team, but I'm left with no other choice. Kakashi's students are good together, but it's their differences that will cause problems for them in the future."

He knew he couldn't control the direction that team was heading to.

If Kakashi kept hanging onto the threads of Rin's death, he would go on to fail his team because he was too caught up in what  _ couldn't _ be instead of focusing on what  _ would _ be.

If Sasuke kept believing that Sakura was faultless in every way and that the only way forward was by gazing at his brother's back, he would fall into the depths of a mentality where he would never think he was good enough for the others around him.

If Naruto kept seeing himself as a monster and Sakura as his only protector, then he'd live on the false hope that she was somehow an angel that was one of the few people who could go to understand him, not reaching out to anyone else.

And if Sakura kept putting herself in dangerous situations, like the near sacrifice she made for a stranger or the endless self-blame she held over herself in her severe case of PTSD, she might fall into the hands of her own blade or worse—into Danzo's clutches.

Kakashi needed to learn to trust. Sasuke needed to stand up on his own two feet. Naruto needed to open his arms for his already open heart. Sakura needed to know that she never needed to go through anything alone.

Dan didn't want to put them in a position where their team would fall apart at the seams, but if they didn't learn to see their faults, then one of the strongest teams to form in Konoha would lose themselves to what they failed to see.

"I may be Hokage, Shizune, but there are things that are still left out of my control. Danzo, the rest of the council, and the clan heads are their own entities with shinobi to fight behind them if it ever comes to the decision to turn against me or the village. If it were up to me, Danzo would be far away from Team Kakashi and others like them. There's very little I can do with people with as much power as him."

He turned his chair to gaze out the window. "I know it's not what you want to see, but all I can do—"

"—is help those teams try and help themselves," she finished quietly. Dan nodded minutely as he ran a hand through his hair.

"And it's part of the reason I allowed him to suspend Sakura in the first place. They all need to work out their problems, and if it's space they need, it's space they'll receive."

::

Hiashi, along with all the others that attended the Clans of Konoha session every month, was intrigued with the direction their most recent meeting decided to take. Never before had a ROOT candidate discussion lasted more than twenty minutes, or left the conclusion to be met upon after the entire gap between meetings.

But then again, it was necessary. Haruno Sakura did not stem from any notable Konoha clan and came from the lowest ring of shinobi affiliates: civilian born. People like her were rare because with no clan, there was no telling what kind of skill set she'd acquire or was thinking of obtaining.

Loose cannons could not be allowed to have such wide roaming freedoms, as many clan heads would agree on.

But surprisingly, Hyuuga Hiashi was not part of that popular opinion.

He didn't want her to be a part of ROOT.

He already tried to keep as many of the Hyuuga Clan away from that organization as best he could. That organization twisted and corrupted, and Danzo was the last person he would ever entrust the byakugan to. Its secrecy and underhanded tactics kept him on edge, and though there were those who supported such a foundation, he saw it as a stain on Konoha's good name.

But, he would still admit that it was one of the stronger forces the village had to offer. Shinobi the epitome of a talent gathered there to work as the bloody shadows of the surface world. If Danzo was able to get his hands on someone with a Yin Seal—someone like Tsunade, he would be unstoppable.

Then again, if she turned to Tsunade's path she would no longer be a part of the village.

Everyone alive over a decade ago knew her story. Senju Tsunade, famed for her physical prowess and paramount medical skill, became one of the most powerful people known through the shinobi nations at a young age. She was loud and determined in her youth with a personality that matched her capacity, but it all washed away when her beloved brother Nawaki died the day after he turned twelve.

He ran into an explosive trap set up by enemy forces that destroyed his body beyond recognition.

Tsunade became obsessed with revenge after that. It was some more years before she finally snapped, taking along Kato Shizune and Konoha's most heavily guarded forbidden jutsu before leaving her village without so much of a glance back.

Dan went after her, of course, but couldn't find a trace of his lover or his niece until the day Shizune showed up injured and unconscious in front of the gates.

Hiashi wasn't sure if Sakura had an incentive to leave the village just as Tsunade did, but she certainly had the same skills as the sannin.

And if he wasn't mistaken, she had the guilt of letting someone close to her die, didn't she?

::

He didn't like coming to the building for a number of reasons. For one, he didn't appreciate the act of torturing or ruining a person's mind just for a bit of information. He only did it when absolutely necessary, but these people made it a regular act and made it seem like it was natural to break bones and peel skin of anyone they had a suspicion of.

The sector itself wasn't for the light-hearted. The things they did on and off the record fueled fear and rumors that weren't just rumors, and even he would shy away from such infamy.

Two, he didn't particularly associate with anyone affiliated with that side of the business. Those he knew of he didn't like, had a few screws loose, or did things so out there that it made even him flinch away. 

Those in T&I were no good.

Some more so than others, such as the one he was currently faced with.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in distaste. "Mitarashi."

Anko grinned. Her complete takeover of Ibiki's office for the time being resulted in her feet being propped up onto the desk and dango sticks built up into a small house figure at the corner near Ibiki's name plate.

"Well, well, if it ain't I'm-A-Lone-Wolf-So-I-Don't-Need-No-Goddamn-Friends. We haven't talked in so long that I was beginning to worry that you forgot about lovely ol' me."

"Lovely? Pity," he sneered. "It's either you're blind or you're living in denial. Though I'd say it's both."

If there was one person he could say he hated with every fiber of his being, it had to be her. She was wholly obscene in her everyday conduct who didn't have an ounce of respect running through her bloodstream. She was inappropriate in every single action she pushed through with and came up with the most absurd situations for herself. She was also annoying, insulting, vulgar, and obviously far too insane to be let into the profession but was allowed anyways.

She threw her head back and laughed.

"Assholes like you never change, eh? Well, you'd better shape up that attitude or you'll never get your hands on the file you want," she sang. Horrible singing, in fact. With her voice to reach up her tone-deaf ears. But despite her terrible display, she held up an old folder so that the tab with the name  **'HARUNO SAKURA'** could be clearly read by him. "Unless you came down here for some other reason. I know I'm your favorite person."

Kakashi clenched his fists. "Why is her dossier in your possession, Mitarashi?"

"Because I'm a good sensei. I read my student's files right before taking them on so I know what type of shit I'm getting into," she drawled mockingly. She relished in the way his face twisted in disbelief and offense and laughed. "What? You thought you were the only sensei she's got? Come on. Now you're acting like a fucking moron."

But Anko handed him the ridiculously stuffed file anyways. Kakashi gazed down at it, knowing fully well that there were going to be blackouts in her information like any other special case and confidential files that even he couldn't see for himself.

"You're the sixth person who officially has access to this information, the other five being Hokage-sama, Ibiki, Genma, Inoichi, and myself."

Ibiki? The commanding officer of T&I? And  _ Genma _ ?!

"... Why do—"

Anko bared her teeth in a derisive smile. "We like to take care of our interns, Hatake-chan."

He stalled, suddenly feeling sick. The puzzle of Haruno Sakura was starting to piece itself together and it was making bile rise up in Kakashi's throat.

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	48. Knowing

When Sakura woke up the next day, her eyes were puffy and she found the upper half of her body draped along the edge of the low table. A black cloak was draped around her shoulders, and once she turned her head to the side, she saw Sasori crouched in front of the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Obviously what it looks like."

"...So you can't figure out how to pop the window latch the normal way? Incredible."

He tossed her a glare from over his shoulder. "If I wanted sass, I'd talk to myself," he said. Eventually, he begrudgingly relented and took the seat opposite her like he had the day before. His expression softened as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "How do you feel?"

"Not terrible," she replied, shrugging off the cloak as she set her chin into her open palm. "So what are we going to do for the next two weeks?"

He frowned. "What do you mean  _ 'what are we going to do for the next two weeks?' _ ? We're going on an adventure, so pack your things. I'm going to get breakfast using the door since the window is rude enough to not cooperate with me," he sniffed. Sasori walked towards the door.

"Hey..."

He looked at her. Sakura smiled. "Thanks."

He returned the gesture and stepped out to get their food.

It was an hour later that the two of them were out on the road to leave towards Suna. The "adventure", as her friend put it, was to discuss what they had to work with so far. They would take five years of information into consideration to change what they could or protect what needed to be kept.

"The Nagato situation is... complicated," Sasori started as he bit into his muffin. "Nothing's changed from what I've told you about last time. His story started when he, Yahiko, and Konan became orphans in the war and Jiraiya took it upon himself to train them. They formed the Akatsuki for world peace, brought Zetsu and Kakuzu into the organization, then Nagato left and hasn't been seen or heard from since."

"And our summons haven't been able to pick up any trace no matter what country we send them to. It's like he disappeared off the face of the earth. What should we do? Keep looking?" she questioned.  He took another bite of his muffin.

"I think we should. You said that he was able to have a change of heart and land on Naruto's side at the end of his attack and sacrifice his life for everyone else, right? He's already an unstable mind to begin with, so without Naruto's influence, there's a chance he's still out to destroy this world in his hopes for 'peace' or whatever he calls it."

Sakura scratched her neck and took out the small notebook she kept, jotting down what they decided upon. It kept her's and Sasori's recount of their old lives documented that was a memory to them both, but would seem like complete gibberish to others who read it. "So what'll we do if he's as twisted as before and has a different version of the paths to protect him? That's seven in total we have to take down and I know we'll have enough trouble dealing with one. Maybe even two. And I'd rather not have anyone from Konoha back us up."

"We might have to if it comes down to it. Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma, possibly. I'm sure Kisame can be on our side for this one- Komushi, maybe? But even that's a stretch."

There was a beat of silence before they both heaved identical sighs.

"I hate this world."

"Same."

As Sasori finished his muffin, he silently debated on whether or not he should voice his understanding of the conclusion Kou helped him with a while back. He wanted to tell her that he believed they should seek out the people they knew in the other timeline to make sure nothing took a turn for the worst, but they should also take themselves into consideration as well.

They didn't have to change a thing.

Most of the things that happened so far were far from their control, perhaps even pushing through because of the things they chose to do.

He wanted to tell her to look up at the sky and see that it wasn't painted red with the blood of those lost in the war. He wanted to tell her to let go of her past because even though she died once, she was dying again with the guilt that wrapped around her heart like a noose. 

He wanted to tell her that if she didn't let go, she would never have that happiness she strove for.

But then he remembered her tears from the night before and knew that he was in no position to tell her how to live her life.

Sasori slowed to a stop as they came across two figures that walked leisurely ahead of them, Sakura doing the same and throwing her friend a quick glance before taking in the appearance of the strangers. 

The taller one had on a straw hat with white tassels hanging from the brim, hiding any hair or features they had to discern themselves. The shorter had to be merely a few years older than Sakura now with bright orange hair spiked in all directions and longer than Naruto's.

The latter stopped and turned around. "Oh... hi. We don't see many people on the road when we travel. Are you heading to Suna too?"

Sakura held in a breath. The boy was young, yes, but he was unmistakably the same person who always stood behind Sasuke since the day of Orochimaru's death.

"You could say that," she replied easily. Sasori shifted at her subtle implication that he wasn't just some regular person. "I'm Sakura."

"Juugo," the boy introduced with a smile. "And this is my shishou, a traveling monk who used to be part of the Fire Temple." 

The traveling monk had started to turn at the sound of his pupil's greeting and had eased the hat off his head to regard the newcomers with a polite smile. His distinctive purple eyes shone easily at his regard to the strangers and his silver slicked-back hair kept completely in place despite having covered his head. He regarded the young girl curiously.

"Sakura? Haruno Sakura, right? I'm glad to see you're looking well."

She eyed him distrustfully. "I don't think we've met."

"No, but we've heard of you," he said. "Juugo and I had traveled to Wave some weeks back to investigate why the country was suffering so much. It just so happened that your team arrived not too long after we had and we saw what happened. The people were worried."

At her still wary stare, he stuck out his hand. "Ah, pardon my mistake. I haven't introduced myself," he amended. Sasori blanched. "I'm Hidan, and as Juugo said, I'm a former monk of the Fire Temple."

::

Kakashi didn't know what was heavier- the angered glares Sasuke and Naruto kept giving him as they sparred or the tape covered folder that weighed him down from the inside of his flak jacket.

Their Mental Health Examinations were completed without a problem. They were still shaken over the fact that Sakura had resorted to such means to save a person, but aside from that, they were cleared to take any missions assigned to them from that point onward. After their appointments and as Kakashi led them to the training field, Naruto refused to acknowledge him and Sasuke could only look at his teacher in disappointment.

"Yield," the man called out. The two stopped fighting. "Training is over for today. You can go home."

Naruto threw him one more heated glance before leaving.

Kakashi sighed. When he was sure the two were long gone, he took the folder from his flak jacket and opened the front flap. Stuck to the back of it was a videotape, oddly, with no indication of when it was taken or what it was for except the title ' **The Mission** '.

The first page had Sakura's picture taken from her Academy graduation along with her general information. Age, height, weight... statistics?

_ Ninjutsu: 3 _

_ Taijutsu: 3.5 _

_ Genjutsu: 4 _

_ Intelligence: 5 _

_ Strength: 3.5 _

_ Speed: 3.5 _

_ Stamina: 3.5 _

_ Hand Seals: 5 _

_ Total:  _ **_31_ **

Kakashi was at a complete loss for words. When he saw Sakura kill those men back in Wave and when she expressed her displeasure of having him doubt her, it was all completely warranted. She wasn't overestimating her skills nor placing herself in unconsidered risk.

She was a mere 2 points away from his  _ own  _ stat score.

Even at her insubordination, she had every right to do what she did.

**Age 5**

**Haruno Sakura has been placed into the system. Though she has yet to begin her first year of the Academy, she will start an altered internship under the care of Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma. Parental permission has been granted.**

::

_ "Have you noticed Sasori acting strange lately?" Yahiko asked. "Or stranger than normal, I should say." _

_ Kisame tilted his head at the unexpected question. Of course he hadn't been the only one to think differently of Sasori, especially him since he now knew where his insanity stemmed from (whether that whole time travel business was true or not, he still didn't know), but he didn't think it would reach the concern of their leader. _

_ "Not really. He's just been out more often." _

_ To be with those kids or some other reason probably. _

_ "Hm. I know Sasori looks to have no reason to do things out of the Akatsuki's boundaries, but I need to be sure." _

_ Kisame raised an eyebrow. "You want me to...?" _

_ "See what he's been up to and tell me what you find." _

And that's how he found himself trudging through the vast sand dunes of Wind Country in the sweltering heat of the hottest month of the season. Kisame absolutely hated arid heat the most. His skin didn't take too lightly to it and the black cloak he wore was only making matters worse. If Sasori wasn't such a crazy bastard, he'd be at one of the safe houses enjoying some sake.

"Of course  _ I _ have to go after that lunatic," he grumbled. "Couldn't have damn well sent his partner Oro—"

"Hidan never said a nice thing his entire life. Seeing him acting so civil nearly gave me a heart attack back there—but I never thought he'd become a monk! He never had a secular bone in his body. Though I'm surprised he didn't join a cult."

Kisame climbed one of the dunes and found the exact man he was looking for walking alongside a little girl that couldn't have been more than eleven or something like that. She was about to answer when she turned her head and caught the swordsman eye. She poked Sasori's side.

"Your buddy's here."

"Buddy? I can assure you I don't hav—Oh. Kisame," the shorter man noted. The girl rolled her eyes. "It's either you're here on a mission or Yahiko-sama sent you to spy on me. Not that you're being a good spy because we can both totally see you."

"You're right about the last part. But I doubt sneaking around would do me any good. I already know what you've been doing with all this time you're taking away. You know, babysitting," Kisame said, gesturing vaguely to the pink-haired girl. She glared at him in offense as Sasori barked out a laugh.

"Babysitting. Good one. This is Haruno Sakura, a friend of mine. Known her since she was a brat. And this," Sasori said, now looking at Sakura and motioning to Kisame, "is Hoshigaki Kisame. Though you probably already knew that."

At Kisame's questioning glance, the girl shrugged.

"I know my way around bingo books and you're definitely in all of them," she offered. An understandable and practical explanation.

"Huh. Well, whatever you guys are doing, I'm not going to bother with. None of my business. I'll just be on my way, stop by at a bar, then tell Yahiko-sama that you keep going off because you've found some more puppets or something like that. I dunno. I'll come up with something on the way back."

Sasori strode forward and placed his hands on Kisame's shoulders as he stared him straight in the eye. "I love you."

"That's it, I'm leaving. Haruno-san, can you control this idiot?"

"No problem. Nice meeting you, Hoshigaki-san."

::

**Sakura stood in the frame with her back towards the summon's vision.**

**"Are... Are you afraid of me?"**

**She didn't move.**

**"No," she answered. Her voice wavered. "Not** **_you_ ** **."**

There were a multitude of things one could expect when they saw a videotape in the midst of a child's dossier. It could be proof of said child's skill or a test conducted. Never would he have thought T&I would visually document an entire evaluation, but he supposed he would've done the same if he came across a precocious child like Sakura.

But he also didn't expect his old friend to be a part of it.

Kakashi sat in front of the TV in his house, back straight and hands curled around his knees just simmering in anxiety and anticipation. There was a Mental Health Examination he could've read first or all the other things that made her  _ her _ , but the tape drew him in further with its obscure addition to her files.

So he watched and wondered what she was afraid of at only eight years old.

**"Do you know where the client said you should meet him?" Obito questioned. The screen turned, showing Sakura surveying her surroundings.**

**"Near a hotel. He wants the package to be delivered in secret where no one would find out."**

**"Good. I can take your bag while you complete the mission. If that's okay with you."**

**She was reluctant in slipping the straps off her shoulders and handing him her things. Her eyes narrowed when her hand nearly touched his.**

Kakashi frowned.

**A few more words were exchanged as Sakura set off and disappeared into the crowd. The screen was still for a few seconds before a supposed shunshin was used and the view was positioned high above the rooftops.**

**"Eyes on target," he whispered for the other examiners to hear. The sight followed the head of pink hair weaving through the streets. She seemed like she was right on track to the client near the center of the city.**

**Until she suddenly dashed into a narrow alleyway.**

**Obito sputtered.**

**He leapt onto the rooftops on the other side of the street and peered down onto the path she went down. Or, supposedly had.**

**"She's gone!"**

**Obito opted to head towards the meeting place instead of trying to pinpoint her current location. When he did, there was a faint noise of surprise at the fact that she arrived before he did. A burly man towered over her as she calmly explained the reason for being there.**

**"You're a child."**

**"And you have arm muscles the size of my torso."**

**"What?"**

**"I thought we were pointing out the obvious."**

**The client scoffed and held out his hand. Sakura slipped the red bag out of her pocket and placed it in his huge palms. He didn't even check to make sure the bracelet was inside as he stuffed it in a pouch on the inside lining of his vest.**

**"Best get out of here, kid. People 'round these parts won't take to kindly to pink little girls that prance around their territory," he said, jerking his head towards the exit of the alley. Sakura nodded.**

**"Have a nice day, sir."**

Further proof of her ability molded a mass of guilt in the pit of Kakashi's stomach. Her resolve was made of steel and she already knew how to lose trackers superbly well. Zori and Waraji were like nothing compared to her, and he should have trusted her.

God, he should have trusted her.

The video ran without much else- mostly silence and Obito trying to get Sakura to lighten up to no avail. It wasn't until they were a few miles away from Konoha that something happened. A sound had rustled in the nearby bushes and Obito had taken the girl's shoulders as a precaution.

And so began one of the things Kakashi would never forget in the backdrop of a night two years ago.

**On that screen was Obito's hand with a fresh, deep cut on the back of it. It stayed there for a second or two before the view raised, showing Sakura on the other end of the path. Her back was against the tree, shaking with both hands curled around a red-stained kunai. Beads of sweat dripped down her face and there was a heavy heaving of her chest.**

**The kunai suddenly dropped from her grip as her hands grabbed her neck. She stared right at both Obito and the summon, absolute** **_fear_ ** **in her eyes like she was begging for her life.**

**"Sa-Sakura?" he exclaimed, uncaring of his injury. "What happened?! What's wrong?!"**

**He took a step forward.**

**"STAY AWAY!" she screamed. Her hands moved up to grab at her hair as she slid down onto the ground. Tears suddenly formed in her eyes, the warmth silently dripping down her cheeks as her heaving quickened. Obito kept his distance from her and crouched down to make himself appear less intimidating, an assumption made from how the screen lowered.**

Kakashi's knuckles grew white with the amount of force he gripped his knees with. It was a foolish thought, but...

He thought she feared nothing.

She would stand at death's door and kick it down without so much as a warning and yell at the Devil if she thought something wasn't right.

But this?

**"F-Focus on your breathing! Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose. Can you hear me? Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose..."**

**She looked like she was trying. As she did, her tears flowed out even faster.**

**"It's alright. It's just me. Uchiha Obito. Just a Konoha shinobi, a friend of Genma, and your partner for the mission. You remember, don't you? I'm not going to do anything to you. I promise."**

Did she think Obito would hurt her? That airhead who knew what being a team was way before he did? The idiot who would risk life and limb for those he cared for?

Why?

**Obito started to talk to her in a much softer tone.**

**"What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked. Her shaking slowly started up again though not as intense as before.**

**"He looked like you," she whispered.**

Kakashi's world stilled.

**"W... What?"**

**"His eyes were black. His hair was black. He smiled. But he was taller. He had scars. He wanted to hurt me."**

**"Sa—"**

**"He was stronger than me," she choked.**

Bile rose in his throat.

**"He held me down. He wouldn't let go. He wouldn't stop. I told him to stop," she whimpered, burying her face in her knee., "** **_I told him to stop._ ** **"**

**Obito quietly gasped in disbelief.**

The amount of bile continued to grow.

**"He's dead. Dead... But if he's dead..." Sakura's shaking halted. "Why can I still hear him?"**

**And her shoulders slumped forward.**

**"** **_Why can I still feel him on me?_ ** **"**

Kakashi couldn't continue the video. He knew he should have, but he just couldn't. Though his thoughts couldn't very well be mulled over at the moment. Right as eight year old Sakura uttered those words, he ran to his bathroom and threw up in the toilet.

::

They had parted ways quite a few hours back and the sky had already turned its heavy navy for the night. Juugo voiced his favor for the two strangers they came across, saying how they were kind and eccentric, probably siblings traveling to look for a cause.

But Hidan knew better than that.

So as Juugo slept in the midst of a dying fire, he looked up at the stars and tried to wipe the weariness from his face.

He knew how much he changed since before. His old God would be supremely pissed with the new path he took instead of staying the same as he always had. But what could he say? It was different this time around. 

_ He  _ needed to be different as well.

"Ain't this a fuckin' shit show..." he whispered. Sometimes he missed the way his triple-bladed scythe felt in his hands or the way he constantly bantered with his no good partner Kakuzu in the old days. "Of the four who came back, the last two were the puppet bastard and the scary bitch who killed him in the first place."

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	49. Hardship

They were talking about him.

That's all they ever did when he wasn't around nowadays.

He was in his room and they were in the living space, conversing amongst themselves like he wouldn't have a clue about it. But he could still hear their words in the near silent house. All five of them.

"... only in one eye," his cousin, Shisui, noted thoughtfully. "I didn't think it was possible, but I guess there's a first for everything."

"Maybe it was because of Sakura. He really believed nothing would get to her and when he thought she died, reality clashed with his denial and he was only able to get it in one eye. What that specific eye does... well..." Obito trailed off. Itachi cut in.

"It doesn't matter what caused him to have it or where his power lies. What matters now is that he  _ is  _ in possession of the Mangekyo and he needs to learn to not let it consume him."

Sasuke flinched. Consume? What did they think he was—

"And it won't," Fugaku said. "I will not allow my youngest son to fall into the Curse of Hatred."

... Hatred?

When he first felt that surge of anger at the sight of Sakura... dead... beneath all that rubble, he lost all sense of himself. His heart screamed that he must have been hallucinating and his eyes burned and bled with a pain like no other. One moment he was on his knees, trying to accept the fact that one of his best friend's had died because he couldn't stop her. The next, he was amidst a pile of dead bodies with blood on his hands and fury hanging low in the air.

Of course he hated the people who did that to her. They almost killed her—did they expect for him to just take it lying down?!

Sasuke hated them with every fiber of his being.

But did that make him part of that curse, too?

"The Curse starts with gaining the eye. One or two, he has it regardless," Mikoto mentioned sadly. "Those eyes haven't been in this clan for generations... He watched Sakura-chan's life drain away. She might have made a miracle of a recovery, but it's still there. It's a part of him. It's..."

"He won't give in," Obito declared.

"But if he's able to fall into such depths in gaining that eye, who's to say that it won't happen again? To gain his other eye?"

"Itachi—"

"Someone needs to teach him how to handle it before  _ this  _ happens again. My otouto won't walk down that path!"

"We're not saying he's going to start," Fugaku said. "He'll be carefully watched from now on and the clan will be taking special precautions in his decisions. He's not to use it under any circumstances and if he does, we'll have to take action. The eye is known to take and _ it will take _ ."

"Oji-sama, you're saying it like he's going to turn into another Madara!" Shisui growled.

Sasuke flinched again. 

Everyone knew the story of their ancestor Madara. He was a good man in the beginning, doing everything in his power to protect his clan and his brother, Izuna. But after Izuna died, his discontent with the Senju grew until he fell at the hands of Hashirama.

Consumed by hate.

Power over love.

Did they think... that was what he'd turn into?

Unable to sit in the house any longer, Sasuke hopped out his window and sprinted off the compound. He didn't care where his legs would carry him or who looked at him—all he wanted was to get as far away from his home as possible. He wasn't like that. He wasn't going to turn into Madara. He was going to be a.. be a...

"Monster!"

Sasuke halted and whipped his head towards the shout. A group of about five kids his age were bunched together, taking turns kicking something—someone—on the ground.

"Freak!"

"Demon!"

"The only reason why you graduated early was because the teachers didn't want you to dirty the Academy hallways anymore!"

Those insults had a frightening amount of familiarity behind them, Sasuke realized as he pivoted to the left and ran towards the gang of assholes. At the sight of the orange jacket tossed on the ground and the blood drops that stained the ground, he saw red.

_ Consumed by hate. _

"Get away from him!"

The first person he came across he punched right on the cheek and the second he brought down with a kick to the stomach. Sasuke then pulled Naruto up to his feet, glaring at his friend's black eye and split lip in animosity. The blonde sniffed.

"Sa-Sasuke? What are y—"

"What's the big idea?!" a bully snarled. "Why're you defending that little rat?!"

Sasuke turned and opened his mouth to threaten them, but they quickly backed off when they got a good look at his eyes. One of the kids he didn't hit pointed at him shakily.

"Y-You're- You're just like him!"

What?

"You're a monster!"

Sasuke grit his teeth.

"Your eyes are different! They're cursed!" he cried. The Uchiha stiffened as the group ran away from him, shouting at how they shouldn't stay any longer because they'd catch the curse of being a monster too. But Sasuke tried not to pay them any mind as he picked up the torn jacket from the ground and faced Naruto.

"Why didn't you defend yourself?" he demanded. "I know damn well you can fight better than them, so what happened back there? Why did you let them do that to you?!"

His friend ducked his head and made dents in dirt with the tip of his sandal, unwilling to answer that question.

"Naruto!"

"I... But... But they..."

"Is it because they called you a monster?" Sasuke hissed. "You're not a monster, dobe! Not now, not ever!"

He looked away once blue eyes started to grow glassy and wet. He grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him down the alleyways towards someplace safe. Not the hospital, not their homes, and certainly not anywhere Kakashi would be.

"After I fix you up you're going to tell me what happened."

Naruto could only nod numbly in reply.

::

Kakashi didn't read the rest of her file that day. Appalled by what he learned and still suffering the guilt of how wrong he was made him too nauseous to read through what other horrible things that befell his student. So he didn't touch the file until first thing early the next morning and pulled out the contents of the Mental Health Examination.

There was a cassette tape and an audio transcript as well as the notes Inoichi took.

He placed the cassette in his nearby player and forced his eyes down to the transcript to read along.

**Mental Health Examination**

Case Subject: Haruno Sakura

Examiner: Yamanaka Inoichi

Observation by: Shiranui Genma, Morino Ibiki, Kato Dan

Location: Torture & Interrogation Building

_ -START- _

_ [00:00:00] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ I have a bit of questions to ask. I need you to answer these with a hundred percent honesty. This will go on your permanent record and any lies discovered can result in punishment or termination of your internship under Morino-san and Shiranui-san. _

_ [Haruno nods] _

_ [00:00:34] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Alright then, Sakura. We'll get started. How was your relationship with your family? Was it a two parent household, were they shinobi...?  _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ My parents were Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi. My father was a chef and my mother was a school teacher; civilians. I wasn't very... close to them as I wanted, but they're good people. [short pause] Or, were. _

Her parents were dead.

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Who do you normally hang out with? _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. It's the two of them most of the time, but an occasion I'll hang out with Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru. _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Mhm... so, how would you describe yourself? _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ Pessimistic. Stressed. Tired, I guess? There's really nothing more I have to say. _

That was nothing like the little tyrant he knew. She was supposed to be a snarky thing that uprooted the foundation of his authority and took charge with absolute determination shining in her face. But listening to her just a mere two years before he officially met her, she sounded so defeated. So hopeless. Like she wanted nothing more than to die.

... She couldn't have.

Kakashi listened on sadly as she answered each of Inoichi's questions with an honesty he didn't want to hear. She trusted no one, worried more than she ever needed to, and planned things out every step before acting upon them. Trusting those words, that meant her saving Haku had been what she wanted from the moment she laid eyes on that falling rubble.

She knew she'd be near death and she knew she'd somehow survive. Through sheer willpower or some other force, he didn't know.

His ears perked up when Inoichi stated the first question of the PTSD screening.

_ [00:09:15] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ How would you rate your temper on a scale of one to ten? _

_ [Haruno flexes her fingers] _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ Temper? An eight. I don't take too well to idiots. _

_ [00:10:21] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Is your guard ever lowered? I can see that it's not the case right now, but what do you have to say? Don't you have some time to relax? Konoha's a safe enough place for that much. _

_ [Haruno shrugs] _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ It's like what I said about trust. I don't believe in having so much, so I'll always have my guard up. Always. Of course there are times when I slip up and make mistakes, but I'm working to make sure it [emphasis] never [end of emphasis] happens again. _

_ [00:11:05] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ I've noticed that you're distant. _

_ [Haruno's jaw tightens] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ More separated than a lot of kids. Is there a reason for that. _

_ [Haruno avoids eye contact] _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ Connections make it harder for you to do what you have to. If nothing can hold you back, then it's okay. _

Then what did Naruto and Sasuke mean to her? She obviously loved those two so much that she'd risk everything for them, so did that mean she involuntarily started to care for both of their well-beings? Or... was she accepting the fact that she knew she needed to cut all connections but failed to do so in the first place?

Kakashi rubbed a hand over his face. He listened further and learned that she only managed some few hours of sleep everyday because of the nightmares she experienced. By what, he didn't know, but he had a decent guess of what.

_ [00:17:02] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Do you have any thoughts of self-harm or suicide? _

He didn't want to hear it.

**_Haruno:_ ** _ [quietly] Yes. _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Have you attempted self-harm or suicide? _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ [pause] I have, Yamanaka-san. _

Kakashi sunk down on his sofa.

_ [00:19:43] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ What about guilt? Do you feel it often? _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ [smiles] All the time. _

He didn't want to listen any further, but he had to.

_ [00:20:35] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ Then... do you hate yourself? _

_ [Haruno looks at the ceiling] _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ I don't know. I don't have an answer for that. _

She did. Does. Still. He was sure of it.

_ [00:22:13] _

_ [Yamanaka pulls out a plain fifteen cm by fifteen cm mirror lined with a plastic black frame. Haruno appears confused. Yamanaka gestures to it.] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ When you look in the mirror, who do you see? _

Kakashi sat in pure silence for a whole minute with his heart dropping every second she did not answer. When she did, the guilt came back to him.

_ [00:23:14] _

**_Haruno:_ ** _ No one important. _

_ [00:23:37] _

**_Yamanaka:_ ** _ This concludes the examination, Sakura. Thank you for your time. _

_ [00:23:43] _

_ -END- _

He made her feel like she didn't know a thing about the choices she made or the decisions she sided with. She, out of everyone he knew, was one of the people who shouldn't be told how to live her life. He had absolutely  _ no right _ to say the things he did when he suspended her.

He told her that she wasn't invincible.

But now he knew that she never wanted to be.

::

Right in his little oasis in the midst of the sands and the barren heat of Wind Country, Gaara sat by the river like he always did whenever he wanted to get away from home or whenever Sasori said he'd meet him. Luckily enough for him, it was the latter. So when someone emerged from the trees, the boy stood expectantly with his cheeks warming in excitement. But when that someone turned into two, he stared in curious shyness.

"Sasori...?"

The man smiled. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Gaara twiddled his fingers nervously as his eyes landed on the stranger. She was taller than him with bright pink hair and green eyes that sparkled like a troubled ocean. She stepped forward and offered a friendly smile, sending the color back to his face.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you," she greeted softly, stretching out her hand. He cautiously took it. Her hand was calloused with the years she trained, he guessed (what else could it be?), but that didn't make a lot of sense to him. Sakura couldn't be any older than he was but she had hands just like his father. And he felt like he must've heard about her from somewhere...

_ "Her heart's very, very sick. So thinking about it makes me a little sad sometimes." _

_ "Her heart's sick? So she has a disease?" _

_ "Something like that." _

"Hi.. um... I-I'm Gaara," he mumbled. "Are y-you okay?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine? Oh, did Sasori tell you about me being in the hospital?" she sighed. She threw Sasori an exasperated glare and he returned it with a stuck-out tongue. "I'm way past recovery on that one so it's nothing to worry about."

He shook his head. "No, I... I meant your heart. Is your heart okay?"

_ "How did she get the disease?" _

_ "She gave too much of herself to the people she loved." _

"I haven't been having problems with it lately. That I know of, anyway. What's this crazy grandpa been telling you?"

"Grandpa?!" Sasori gasped indignantly. "You know damn well that's a lie! I'm only thirty!"

At her flat stare, he sagged. "... Rude," he grumbled. Gaara giggled despite himself and refocused on the girl. She had to be the one Sasori talked about. No one else could look as sad as she did no matter how much she tried to hide it. Maybe she did a good job of it but he wasn't fooled. He lived with self-loathing and sadness long enough to know what it looked like on another person.

At least he had Sasori with him. Who did she have?

_ "Well if she was getting so sick, why didn't they see? Didn't they give it back to her?" _

_ "They gave something back to her, but it only made things worse." _

"S-Sakura-san? I know a lot of nice places in this oasis, so... so I want you to see it. I already showed Sasori and he liked it. It's pretty so... will you come with me?" he questioned. Gaara didn't want people to turn out as sad as he did. It just wasn't right.

_ "Maybe you'll meet her one day." _

And if Sasori was going to try to be there for her, he would too.

She grinned. "Sure, I'd love to!"

_ "I'm sure you'll be good friends." _

::

The view from atop the Hokage Monument was astounding, especially as time trickled into the early evening. The horizon was colored in pinks and oranges that shone down above the tops of Konoha's expanse of buildings.

Two boys sat on the Third's stone likeness in silence and watched as the sun slowly made its descent. Naruto held a bag of ice to his black eye and jutted out his bottom lip only because the bandage was starting to annoy him.

He... Sasuke wasn't supposed to see that. He wasn't supposed to find out.

"You know how no one likes me, right?" Naruto started. "You've seen the way they look at me, like I'm evil or the devil or somethin'. Right? You've seen it?"

Everyday. 

Ever since meeting the boy at a young age, Sasuke saw how the villagers- civilians and shinobi alike- looked at his friend like they wanted nothing more than to slit his throat then and there. Sakura would always make the first move of defense, lashing out verbally or if worse came to worse, physically. Never had she questioned the animosity and always sought to protect Naruto from the villagers when he'd never do it himself. Sasuke was quick to take after but never went to the extreme lengths she did.

Though he never figured why he had to in the first place.

"Yeah."

"Well it's—it's like what those guys said back there. That I'm a monster and a freak and a demon... a-and it's 'cause they're right. I am."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "Dobe, you're not—"

"You saw it on the bridge in Wave," Naruto interrupted quietly. "The chakra. The tails. The fox. It was me."

The Uchiha's pulse quickened. That time, he was so engulfed in his rage that he thought the vulpine apparition and the frenzy in the air was part of some sort of twisted hallucination, because nothing so terrifying and violent could ever be real. His friend continued on miserably.

"I have the Kyuubi sealed in me. That's why everyone wants me dead."

Sasuke's initial reaction was to back off. He's heard stories upon stories of how the demon ravaged the village about ten years ago, leaving death and destruction in its path. The Yondaime had been able to end the attack at the cost of his life, but he didn't think his teammate would be part of the cost.

Naruto saw the inner turmoil Sasuke was facing and curled in on himself.

"S'okay if you don't wanna be my friend anymore. I understand."

Then, at the sight of such a somber boy, the youngest son of Uchiha Fugaku proceeded to internally kick the shit out of himself.

What the hell was he thinking?!

He'd known Naruto for years and there wasn't a single moment where he proved to be the beast everyone thought of him. Naruto was one of the kindest and most innocent person he'd ever met. This was the boy who thought he deserved the mistreatment of their first Academy teacher, who protected a kid from his abusive father, who cried at his birthday party because he never had one before!

Naruto couldn't be evil even if he tried.

"Something like this isn't going to stop me from being your friend," Sasuke said, finally. Blue eyes shot up to him. "I'm just surprised. You being host to the Kyuubi isn't going to change anything, okay? You're not a monster. You're Uzumaki Naruto."

He actually did scoot a bit away when Naruto's eye welled up with tears and he started to sniff into his jacket. Suddenly, he launched himself to the side and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's midsection and buried his face on his teammate's blue-sleeved shoulder.

"Sa- _ hic _ -Sasuke!!"

"D-Dobe!"

But after a few seconds of trying to peel his sobbing mess of a friend off and it not working, Sasuke sighed and awkwardly patted his back.

_ Consumed by hate? _

Seeing Naruto quiver as he clung on for dear life hardened Sasuke's resolve.

_ Not a chance. _

The two of them were too caught up in their brotherly moment to notice that they gained an audience of one in the not too far distance. A man stood there with solemn eyes, watching a team become a team without a teacher to guide, as he held a completely read-through folder close to his chest.

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	50. Mist

When Ibiki and Genma opened the door to the inn room they hadn't been in for the past two weeks, they were greeted by the sight of a floor completely covered in sand, a small potted cacti sitting on the table where the light of the window would shine, a jar holding a suspicious substance right beside that, and Sakura—caked in mud—tearing scraps of paper into unrecoverable pieces. She looked up and waved.

"Hey! How was the job?"

Genma looked like he was he was going to ask a question, struggling to make sense on what the hell was going on, but then shook his head. "You know what? I'm not even going to try to understand," he said. He tossed his pack on one of the beds and fell beside it. "You do you, kid. No matter how crazy you are."

Ibiki eyed the room as he too stepped inside and set his things on the bed, approaching the suspicious jar and lifting it in front of his face. There were five spiders crawling in the secluded space as they glared angrily at their circumstance.

"... What are these?"

"Wandering spiders. Did you know their venom is twenty times more potent than a black widow's if it gets into the bloodstream? People affected can lose control of their muscles, have breathing problems, get respiratory paralysis that can lead to suffocation—"

Ibiki slowly placed the jar down and took a step back.

"—not to mention it's incredibly painful. I was lucky enough to find these sneaky bastards on the other side of the Wind bor—I mean, around. Finding them around."

He would chastise her on leaving the town, not at all surprised that she'd do so in the first place, but they did say if she was back before their return they wouldn't ask any questions. And fair was fair.

"I don't know what it is with you and your fascination with poisons, but at least it keeps you from doing anything illegal," he admitted as he sat down on the chair next to the table. Genma flopped onto his stomach to get a good look at the offending arachnids and scrunched up his nose. 

"Gross. So what's with the plant?"

Sakura took the pieces of paper and slid them into the trash. "A gift from a friend. His hobby's cultivating cacti," she smiled. Her sensei exchanged looks, knowing fully well that they should question the so-called 'friend' she'd made outside country boundaries. But they also knew she wouldn't let a word out if she didn't want to, so they'd be pressing on for nothing.

They decided to trust her on it. Until there ever came a chance it blew up in her face.

"Cacti, huh? Seems like something boring people would do," Genma said.

"And all you do in your spare time is hit on women who are way out of your league. Who's the  _ real  _ loser here?" Sakura hummed. Ibiki snorted at the pouty disgruntled expression on the other Jounin's face.

"You two can argue about hobbies later. We'll be heading towards Kiri tonight so get as much rest as you can," he said. He glanced as his ward. "And you can rest after you take a damn shower. What made you go swimming in mud?"

She grinned and put up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah, you said if I'm in town when you get back you wouldn't ask any questions."

Ibiki's eye twitched, but he sighed and reclined in his seat. Irritatingly annoying or not, she was doing better. And that's all he hoped to take from the mission.

::

The Clans of Konoha meeting was called to session, first order of business: deciding whether Haruno Sakura should or shouldn't be sought out by ROOT. Dan turned to the first seat to his left.

"Your thoughts on the matter?"

Aburame Shibi glanced around the table, noting the topic had brought about a fair amount of interest to the people who otherwise took these meetings as a monotonous requirement. "She doesn't fit the mold. Regardless of whether or not she'd still be able to function as a member of the organization, I don't think this would be the best course of action. I have a family member already in it and if the same thing that happened to him will happen to her, I'd rather not go through with it. It's obvious that she's different and ROOT won't be able to handle that," he said. Quiet murmurs ran around the room as Dan looked to the next seat.

"Akimichi-san?"

Chouza leaned against his forearms. "She's colder than a lot of kids. I can't deny that," he shrugged, "but she has a lot of compassion and understanding. That's rare enough as it is and I'd hate to see it lost if she's taken in."

She was also willing to look past his son's appearance and punch the crap out of his bullies, he later learned when his son recounted that day. He'd hate to see the kindness she had washed away to become the emotionless drones Danzo insisted on having.

The third seat came up next and Dan nodded for them to speak. Hyuuga Hiashi, a man whose face kept as firm and hard as stone, was known to treasure strength and skill above all else. He had taken positions before to send those with such assets to places where they would continue to get better than they already were. His answer was foreseen to be as obvious as day.

"My understanding is that she's already involved in a substantial number of main clans. Most here have met her or have at least heard of her name prior to these discussions," Hiashi started. His eyes betrayed no emotion. "Someone with that many connections is unheard of, and someone that could possibly sway clan politics has no place in that organization."

But apparently the day had some clouds passing through that hour. Murmurs broke out again as well as the surprised stares the others were giving him, but he paid no mind. They were already three for free against Sakura's passage into ROOT and they needed four more votes to pass the decisions.

Fourth seat down, Inuzuka Tsume, spoke next. "Kid's strong and knows what the hell she's doing and what she  _ needs  _ to do is fix up that stuffy hole with her quirks," she huffed. She was one of the few who openly voiced her discontent with Danzo and the shady service he aligned himself with—in fact, she would be more than glad to have someone in there disrupting the flow. "She's gonna be one of the best shinobi out there, so might as well put those skills to use. She graduated two years ahead of her time, and I think we all know she could've gone much earlier than that."

The first supporter came from the one the meeting least expected oddly enough. Tsume always took to places against the council, especially Danzo, and everyone else was severely thrown off by the change of heart. The next supporter, right in the seat beside her, agreed as well.

"Haruno Sakura is the youngest to join the T&I sector and is currently under the jurisdiction of Morino Ibiki and Shiranui Genma. Her statistic total is 31 and she's currently on an A-ranking mission," Nara Shikaku informed. Supreme attentiveness broke through the other clan members who had not been able to access her file, therefore lost to the particular fact. "There's nothing she doesn't already know. If she's as far gone as everyone's saying she is, there's no point in stopping her. She'll only get stronger and smarter—nothing's holding her back."

He ignored the glare his long-time friend sent him from the other side of the table. He had nothing against the girl and certainly had no ill-intent towards her, but she was intelligent and determined. She was someone to be wary of and needed to be watched lest something critical happened. Again.

Across Shikaku, Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed away the smoke he drew in from his pipe. "Not necessarily. Higher callings don't always work. It didn't work with Hatake Kakashi, and I believe it would be the same for her."

He knew that well.

Four to two. Not bad odds for those who wanted to keep Sakura out of ROOT, but there were still six more people who had to give their say. From beside the former Hokage, Shimura Danzo loosely curled his fingers atop his cane.

"My reason still stands. She is the perfect candidate," he voiced. It wasn't what he said that made every stop. It was the subtle implication he had lurking behind his few words. Perfect candidate, perfect candidate- he said it so much and yes, the girl was more than acceptable to bring into his ranks. But why did he have to keep repeating the fact that she was  _ perfect _ ?

Then almost collectively, they understood.

"You want her to be your successor," Chouza said. Danzo smirked.

"I've never made such a claim."

He didn't have to, and that's what made Dan's jaw set. The Godaime swept his eyes to the next seat who had yet to speak and motioned for them to say what they had to.

"I witnessed her power myself when Shimura-san tested her. She's powerful and ROOT would be an outlet she needs to keep that skill in check as well as drive it to Konoha's better needs. T&I might not be enough," Uchiha Fugaku stated. Control was what was needed and what she didn't have. Once under Danzo, she would be smart enough to handle her own as well as be closely monitored.

Four to four. The odds were even as the attention moved to Yamanaka Inoichi. His arms were crossed over his chest as his face stayed just as icy as it had been last conference.

"There are many things I can't say about her because of patient confidentiality, but know this. Speaking from my position as her therapist, she is not stable enough to involve herself with ROOT."

The two council members, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, had been alike in their beliefs and moral compasses since being teammates years and years ago. For counseling with the people's needs, they'd always sided with Hiruzen. But when counseling shinobi matters, their militant way of thinking had them consistently siding with Danzo. This discussion proved no different.

"We've gone through her file. She's a peculiar one that could prove to be a complication if she's not kept in check at an early stage," Koharu said. Homura continued with that sentiment.

"People like her can be dangerous if they fall into the wrong places. Those who are in charge of her aren't exactly problems now, but have proved to be loose cannons in the past. Morino Ibiki: head of Torture and Interrogation and one of the leading minds behind ANBU Operations. Shiranui Genma: proficient in stealth missions but has multiple past violations in defying leadership. Mitarashi Anko: served several probations and suspensions due to her actions that have proved her a force to be reckoned with but a danger to others."

"Haruno Sakura has already proved quite troublesome with her reckless tendencies and her disregard for authority, her team's previous mission to Wave being a prime example of such," Koharu interjected smoothly. She didn't miss the way the mention of that near-tragic mission caused a ripple of unease through the room. "Her influences won't help her in any matter and would curb her to be more like  _ them _ , to which I find unacceptable."

How they could talk about fellow shinobi like that was beyond most of the members' comprehension.

"What that girl needs is discipline. That is what ROOT will provide for her," Homura finished. All eyes then turned to Kato Dan whose chair was at the front of the table. His fingers were clasped together with his chin propped up on the interlinked joints, regarding the other eleven members coolly. A five to six match up and it was his choice that determined whether Sakura would be actively pursued by ROOT or be safe, or as safe as someone of her standing could be.

"Since she was to become a T&I intern and was the youngest to ever be listed, it was my duty to personally review her and be there for at least some of her required tests. The one I remember most prominently was her Mental Health Examination."

Inoichi glanced to the side.

"It was not a very long exam, perhaps twenty minutes. Thirty at most. But in that short time I realized something about her that I hoped to never see in anyone," he said. "If she were to pick any organization to be a part of besides T&I or Intelligence, it wouldn't be the tokubetsu jounin, or ANBU, nor Hunter-nin, nor ROOT. She would gladly elect herself in Red Ops if allowed."

A shiver went down a good half of their spines. Red Ops was more of a rumor with the citizens of Konoha, but higher-ups knew it was just as real as anything else.

Red Ops were those who took 'special' missions with every expectation of not finishing it alive.

"Just on the basis of how unique her skill is, we can't allow that. Add in that we're having such a discussion when she's only ten years old means we're absolutely  _ not  _ going to allow that. So to avoid that road as much as possible, I will readily leave her in the hands of T&I."

Silence.

"This gives us an even split. Is anyone willing to change their minds to tip the balance?"

Still, silence. Dan nodded, secretly, relieved.

"Then she'll be left alone until a proper decision has been concluded. We'll now move on to the next topic."

And so her fate was saved for another day.

::

Kirigakure could only be explained in a way that lived up to its namesake: misty. The air was cool and unimposing—a sharp contrast to the people that inhabited it. Sharp teeth, high suspicions, loud voices... well, they could be called more eccentric than most anyone else in Konoha.

"Yagura-sama has been expecting you," a tall guard informed the three. "I'm to escort you there, but the runt has to stay in the village."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Who're you calling a runt, stretch?"

Ibiki quickly slapped a hand over her mouth as Genma stepped in front of her and offered up a sheepish grin.

"Yagura-sama's hospitality is greatly appreciated," he said. As the guard pushed down an amused bark of laughter and turned to lead them away, Genma ruffled her hair and gave her a thumbs up as Ibiki gave her a pointed look that got across the apparent message _ 'behave' _ . 

She flipped her non-existent hair over her shoulder and mouthed back  _ 'we'll see' _ .

Once they were out of her sight, she schooled her expression and melded her presence to the edge of the roads. Kirigakure was mountainous surroundings and cylindrical buildings and she never had the chance to familiarize herself with it in her old life. They had a reputation they lived up to and held up the nickname Chigiri for a reason and that reason kept her far from their boundaries.

Of course, one of the main reasons Kiri went downhill was due to Madara's internal manipulation until Obito came and took his identity. But with the knowledge that Zabuza and Haku never defected and Yagura's stable position as Yondaime Mizukage, it was safe to assume it never followed through.

Sakura wandered to one of the mountains at the edge of the village and watched small waterfalls cascade down the dark stone.

"My, my, my, what have we here? Is that the little angel who healed me when I was in interrogation?" Mei glided up to her side. "Ah, I never thought the day would come when I'd see you again, angel," she cooed. "I didn't get the chance to thank you for your compassion that day when we both know I didn’t deserve it. So would you please give the name of the kind heart I owe my gratitude to?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you under better circumstances," the ten year old greeted. Mei's smile grew wider, her face illuminating with glee.

"A name that translates to Cherry Blossom Spring Field?! That's  _ adorable _ !" she exclaimed. Sakura's cheeks tinted a dash red before pulled into a hug. This Mei was a far cry from the silent prisoner she helped a while back, but reminiscent of the Mei she saw of in the other timeline. Cheery, polite, and with a soft side for cute things. Or people. Apparently.

"Te-Terumi-san—"

"Call me Mei, angel!"

"Um, you've kinda, uh, lifted me off the ground," Sakura informed her with an awkward chuckle. "My feet are dangling."

The woman's auburn hair brushed the cloth of her skirt as she leaned to the side to see that she did, in fact, lift the genin so high up that she dangled in her grip. She laughed.

"Sorry about that, angel. Tell me, what brings you to this gloomy island?" Mei questioned, setting the girl back down onto her feet. Sakura's blush deepened as she straightened her shirt.

"My sensei are speaking with Yagura-sama about something, so I'm supposed to behave but I've got nothing to do," she sighed. A thought suddenly struck. "Actually, do you know where I can find Momochi Zabuza?"

Mei's pretty red lips took a slight turn downwards. "That grouch? He's normally out training with Haku-chan. Do you need me to take you to him?"

"If it's not any trouble."

"Now why would that be any trouble, darling angel?" Mei gushed. "Such a polite girl with beautiful pink hair and wonderful chakra control, I'm sure. Quite the diamond, aren't you? Precious!"

Sakura's face went crimson and she let herself be led through Kiri.

::

Zabuza carefully examined the double kodachi in his hands. When sheathed, it had the appearance of a simple katana as the second sword was well hidden at the bottom of the scabbard appearance. The blades were crafted from the strongest, rarest steel on the market as up to date—the S7 Shock—and had the approved seal of artistry from the best blacksmith Kirigakure had to offer.

_ 'Can't believe I actually had this ordered.'  _ He spared a glance at his apprentice training on the field before looking back to the blade. ' _ But she saved his life, and there's not enough in the world I can do to pay her back for it.' _

A few seconds later, the ice mirrors Haku formed shattered onto the ground and he bolted to the other side of the training field, tears threatening to fall. Mei, Zabuza recognized with some exasperation, had showed up with a shorter figure in tow.

"Sakura-san!" the boy cried. "Sakura-san! Sakura-san, you're okay!"

He barreled right into her.

Zabuza twirled the double kodachi in his hand and silently eased his way towards the small reunion.

Huh. Couldn't have been more convenient of a time for her to show.

"I thought Hatake-san wouldn't be fast enough," Haku sniffed. "You lost a lot of blood and your pulse was so weak that I thought...  _ I thought _ ..."

Mei tilted her head at the sight and raised her uncovered eye to meet Zabuza's in a silent question and he shook his head once; he'd tell her sometime later if the topic ever came back up. He then placed a gentle hand on his student's shoulders before focusing on Sakura to see that she looked just as healthy as she did the day she came to Wave with her team.

"You recovered well."

"Like I'm going to let a few metal beams stop me from kicking ass," the girl grinned. Zabuza snorted. 

"Right. Here," he said, holding out the double kodachi. "Just like you requested."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh! The blades! I didn't think you'd remem—"

"And these too!" Haku exclaimed. He took out a pair of well-polished wrist blades from his kunai pouch and placed them in Sakura's palms, then closing her fingers around it. She blinked at the objects and looked back and forth between the two.

"I didn't ask for wrist blades."

"No. But you said you had a small thing with them, so Haku thought we might as well get you some new ones," Zabuza shrugged.

"So how much for—"

"No charge."

" _ What? _ "

The surprised utterance came from Mei, who stomped over and poked the swordsman in the chest accusingly.

"When did you learn how to be gratuitous? I've never seen you do one good thing and I've known you since our genin days!"

Haku didn't seem fazed by the argument that broke out between the two of them and merely turned his full attention to Sakura. She gazed at the blades with a sparkle in her eyes, though still confused as to why weapons so expensive could be gifted to her.

"You didn't have to save me that day," he told her quietly. "But... think of it as a small thank you. This is the least we could do for you."

"Haku—"

"Please, Sakura. Just take them, okay?"

Those brown eyes glimmered again, sadly but brightly, hopefulness twisting so thoroughly with kindness that for a moment she really thought that they were green. She nodded as she forced a smile onto her face.

"Okay."

::

**Chapter 50 everyone!!**

**So what's a milestone without at least _some_ previews of future events?**

**~**

"She was just a little girl, Kakashi!"

**~**

"Why else would everything be so fucking different?!"

**~**

Kisame twitched as his hand slowly made its way to Samehada's hilt.

_'I'm not supposed to be here.'_

**~**

"Because _my_ name is Haruno Sachiko and I won't be known as anything other than that!"

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	51. You

Kou thought Sakura had enough sense to realize that a) most cats of his stature didn't appreciate water and b) taking him out on this journey with her was a total let down. He, perched on her narrow shoulders, leaned just over the rim of the fishing boat they were on and peered at his less than happy reflection.

"The ocean is revolting," he sniffed. "Why have you sent me to my impending doom, Sakura-chan? I thought we were friends!"

She cast him a pointed look. "I didn't force you to come, you know. All I said was that I wanted to get some venomous sea life with the off-chance we'd find some mackerel."

"That's exactly it, nya! Using your unholy powers of manipulation, baiting me with what I desire and coercing me to accompany you on this wretched slab of wood!" he cried. Sakura rolled her eyes just as a sopping wet paw erupted from the water and grasped the edge of the dubbed 'wretched slab of wood'.

"If I hear more of your whining I will not hesitate to make you my next meal, species be damned," a deep voice rumbled. A striped head rose above the surface. "So either shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you."

Kou turned his nose up and curled himself on the bench opposite Sakura's. "Oh yes, the brute comes to make demands as she always should, shouldn't she? Hmph."

The tigress bared her teeth in warning before taking a much kinder tone when addressing her summoner. "There are a few of those yellow-bellied snakes a few meters from us as well as a blue-ringed octopus a bit towards the east. Are you in need of those?"

Sakura looked at the numerous jars at her feet. Six pufferfish, ten cone snails, three yellow-bellied snakes, one blue-ringed octopus (that she was sure was glaring at her), and seven stone fish. Kiri was just a wonderful place where all her water creature findings could be satisfied.

"Yeah, I do. You can rest up here for a bit while I dive down and get them, Rie-sama," Sakura replied. Tigers weren't a usual summon to come across, especially of the Amur species that were the largest and hardest to come by, but after asking Neko-baa-sama to pull some strings as well as offer some favors to pay back in the future, Sakura was able to reach out to one and ask for their help.

Rie hoisted herself up onto the boat, her meter long tail coming across to knock Kou out of his seat. He yelped. "What was that for you barbarian?!"

Rie's tail flicked innocently behind her as she sat down, chin raised. "My apologies, miscreant. Hearing quiet after hours of your relentless drivel I'd forgotten you were there."

He puffed up in absolute offense.

Sakura let a small smile don her face as she slipped the towel from her shoulders and dove into the water.

It was only yesterday that she had the luck of meeting up with Mei, Zabuza, and Haku and coming out of it with new wrist blades, the double kodachi Sasori asked for, and contact information so Mei could make it up to 'her little angel'. Then she went on to have dinner with the four of them, flooring both Genma and Ibiki when they realized that she spent the day with a member of the Seven Swordsman and a woman renowned for being able to spew lava from her mouth.

_ "Sometimes I wonder if you're even real," Genma told her once she was back in their company. "'Cause you're literally out of your goddamn mind... and that's why you're my favorite student." _

Sakura spotted a few of the snakes and sent a small wave of healing chakra to keep them calm, only just long enough for her to get a firm grip on their heads and swim back to the boat.

Ibiki told her they'd only be around a few more days before heading to Frost Country. There was a matter the Hokage wanted investigated and since they'd pass by there anyways, they might as well be the team assigned to the mission. Sakura didn't complain. As much as she missed her boys back home, it helped that she didn't have to be reminded that she couldn't even take D-rank missions with them anymore.

She hopped back onto the boat and slid the snakes into their respective jar. A look to the side granted her the view of Kou angrily sputtering and cursing from beneath one of Rie's monstrous paws with her not looking the least bit affronted, but coolly amused.

"Crude! Savage! Uncivilized beast! Unhand me this instant!"

"What's a cat summon who can't escape another feline's grip? Surely you're not as bad of a nin as you're presenting yourself to be."

" _ Fiend _ !"

Sakura dove off the other side of the vessel, intent on getting another one of those slimy octopi. The one she had in the jar looked a little lonely if not extremely pissed off, so she might as well get it a friend. That and their toxin could cause cardiac arrest, permanent blindness, or permanent paralysis.

::

"If I have any need for therapy from the abuse I suffered from that feral lout, Sakura-chan, you're the one who's going to pay for it!"

Kou immediately leapt onto the dock once it crept within distance, took a good look at his damp fur, then yowled at the sky. "AND I JUST HAD MY FUR BRUSHED THIS MORNING!"

Rie followed suit with a more distinguished air that spoke of her high status among summons and the minds of men. Her hulking body weighed no less than 270 kg (approx. 600 lbs), a testament that she was heavier and better built than any other female of her species, and stretched out to eight feet in length, tail not included.

Sakura came last with a sack slung over her shoulder. She managed to stuff in all nine jars and several towels, and all she needed to do now was extract their toxins and release them back into the wild before they set out of Kiri at the end of the week. Not a bad time allowance, but she probably had to pull a couple of all-nighters to get the job done.

"Rie-sama, I killed a couple of boars before we set out like we agreed on," Sakura said. Rie tipped her head in acquiesce.

"Much appreciated, Haruno-san. It's nice to see young ones keep their end of agreements, time travel aside."

Kou swished his tail. "Always wanting to drain every ounce of respect,  _ your highness _ ?" he hissed. Rie raised a grand paw and yielded her claws to which she let the limited sunlight gleam over their deadly sharpness.

"Of course. You know this body is only my compact form so that humans don't take off running immediately, but we all know I'm a threat regardless," she purred. She suddenly descended upon him, eliciting a choked screech of surprise from the brown cat. "I'm much larger, much stronger, and much older than you, kitten. Perhaps if you keep up your attitude you'll find out the reason why even the most paragon of summons still call me _ Empress. _ "

Sakura shuffled awkwardly to the side. "Well, erm, I need to buy some vials for the toxins and return the boat," she interrupted as she scratched the back of her head. "I'll be a bit, so... Rie-sama, please enjoy your meal and Kou-chan, please don't get yourself killed.

The cats barely noticed her practically flee the scene.

::

Summons were supposed to be nice to each other, weren't they? Or at least have some respect when speaking to one another. But as long as they didn't end up killing each other, or more Rie wiping the floor with Kou's dead body, then they'd be fine.

Sakura entered the small fishing town a couple of kilometers away from Kiri and ducked into the only pharmaceutical store, bought a good handful of vials, and left to pay that nice fisherman who was kind enough to lend her his boat for the day.

As she walked to the other end of the small commercial area, she passed a restaurant and gave a cursory stare to the occupants inside.

Then abruptly stopped, thinking her eyes had deceived her.

_ 'No way.'  _

::

Tsunade downed another shot of the alcohol that didn't seem to help her anymore, but at least it kept her buzzed enough to stuff the memories away. In fact, this was the first time she'd stepped foot away from the shadows and had a drink at an actual establishment in years, albeit said establishment being in a place populated with no more than fifty people.

She sighed and poured herself another drink.

_ 'How long has it been since I left her there?' _

"You know you're real close to Kiri, right? I'm surprised you haven't been seen yet."

A small damp kid slid into the booth seat across from her wearing a cheery smile and setting whatever she was carrying down at her feet. Tsunade eyed her warily.

"I've been doing this for years, girl. The second someone comes I'm gone before they can get word out," she answered, fingers curled around her ceramic cup slowly. "But I'll be generous. You've got about five minutes before you never see me again for the rest of your life."

The girl was silent for a moment.

"I wanted to let you know that Shizune-san's fine. Wondering how you are, but fine nonetheless," she offered calmly. The woman gripped her cup harder. "She said there was a fight—between the two of you and people she didn't know you owed money to. She was injured, she passed out, then she ended up in the hospital. Made a full recovery about a year ago."

Tsunade leaned back in her seat and propped an arm up behind her, gaze never leaving the stranger. "... Who are you?"

"Haruno Sakura; ten years old; genin."

"You're not a genin."

"Officially, I am. But that's not important," Sakura said. She leaned forward and propped her chin up in her palm. "Let's talk about you for while. Surely you can allow more than five minutes?"

A beat, then the downing of another cup.

"Ten minutes."

"That's fair. You know Hokage-sama's been looking for you for a long time, don't you? Why don't you just come back to the village? There, you don't have to keep running and hiding anymore. You could even help out at the hospital 'cause we all know it needs fixing up. I guess Shizune-san could do it, but she's busy being Hokage-sama's assistant."

Tsunade motioned at a waiter for more sake. "She became Hiruzen-sensei's assistant? Odd."

A look of confusion crossed Sakura's face before she hastily put the pieces together. She didn't know. The couple years that passed and she never heard of the inauguration.

"She's assistant to the Godaime, Tsunade-sama," she spoke carefully. "Kato Dan rose to power three years ago."

Maybe at the sound of her old lover's name she'd have a reaction- surprise, praise, sorrow, anger... but there was nothing. Nothing Sakura could see on the outside, at least.

"Good for him. If they've got Dan running around fixing shit up, it's not my problem," Tsunade shrugged. And it really wasn't. She left Konoha what, twenty or something years ago? She vowed she'd never step back into that place until she found the exact bastard that killed her little brother. And once she found them...

Well, then she'd continue her vagabond lifestyle. She stole enough forbidden jutsu to have her apprehended on sight and she liked being a bit free.

"So you're saying you just don't care anymore," Sakura tried, eyebrows furrowing. The sannin scoffed.

"Damn straight I don't care. You know what's wrong with that village? Too soft for their own damn good. When someone dies, that's it. It's done. There's no closure—just bury the body in the ground, say a little prayer, and hope no one else goes out the same way. And god forbid you try going after them because suicidal shinobi don't look good on a track record," she hissed. "Heed my words, girl. Konoha doesn't really care about their people. All they want is a polished reputation."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. The Tsunade in her timeline was bitter, but never to this extent. "What are you talking about?"

"Huh. That's the one thing you don't know, is it? Then I might as well tell you."

The waiter came with another sake bottle, placed it on the table, then quickly made his retreat once he felt the tense air surrounding the table. Tsunade didn't even pour herself a cup this time, instead taking a swig right from the jug.

"Nawaki was twelve years old. It was the day after his birthday."

_ Sachiko was three years old. It was the day before her mother's birthday. _

"It was during the war when he ran into a trap, killing him instantly."

_ It was during the war when her mother ran between two attacks, killing her instantly. _

Tsunade scowled and saw pieces of bloodied flesh and the necklace she'd gifted him. Sakura saw the first smile her baby had ever given her, the first and only time she held the child in her arms, the day Sachiko was born and the only time she would ever get a good look at her mother's face.

"He was unrecognizable."

_ The light in her eyes was gone. _

"I wanted to go after them. To make them pay! And you know what they told me? 'No, it's too late. Nothing can help him now, I'm sorry.' Sorry? Sorry wasn't going to bring him back! Sorry wasn't enough when they stopped me from taking my own life! I'm never going to see Nawaki again!" she seethed.

_ She would never see her mother again, not that she would remember what she looked like. _

"That's why you're staying away from the village? Because they tried to stop you from losing your mind?" Sakura countered, choking back the sob that almost spilled from her lips. "They were just trying to help you! They saw what it was doing to you and they tried to stop you before you hurt yourself!"

Sasori and his concern. Inoichi and his therapy sessions. Obito consoling her when she had her break down. Genma and his protectiveness. Ibiki telling her that she needed to let them in or she'd never get better.

Kakashi suspending her.

Those were the people that crowded her thoughts when she said that, making her hand fly up and cover her mouth as her own words resounded within her. Tsunade didn't notice and tightened her fist until the glass shattered.

"Help?!" she roared. "He was just a little boy and they wouldn't let me kill the fuckers who did that to him or join him in the afterlife! Have you ever loved someone so much then had them ripped away from you? Do you know how that feels?!"

Sakura, sat in the seat feeling small and dazed, looked up at a woman consumed by so much rage and guilt that it was the only color on her face. Those eyes held nothing but a desire to walk down a single road near impossible, but one she persevered on anyways. To Tsunade, it didn't matter that she was alone. It didn't matter that there was no one at her side to help her. As long as she walked that road and reached the end, it was enough for her.

That sort of person...

Sakura's heart dropped into her stomach with the shock of a horrified epiphany,  _ 'Is that the sort of person everyone sees when they look at me?' _

"And they expect me to move on," Tsunade continued resentfully. "Tch. Move on? How can I move on when Nawaki doesn't get the justice he deserves?! Tell me, girl! If something like that happened to you, would you move on?"

Again, Sakura saw her baby's smile. She wanted to cry.

"... I..."

In her letter, she told Sachiko that all she wanted was for her to be happy.

"... I would try."

Tsunade's eyes flew into even more of a rage. "Why?!" she demanded.

What Sakura wanted to do was make sure the timeline didn't turn out the same way that it had. She wanted to make sure Sasuke and Naruto had the lives they deserved, that the village never fell into the clutches of war, that the people she met and never saw again actually had a life they could return to. For the longest time, she believed that everyone she knew should have their own happiness even if it was at the cost of her own. But if she kept doing what she was doing...

She'd be dead. And the timeline she was beginning to know would be no different than the one she knew.

Sakura raised her stare to meet one so filled with hate and hurt. Those were the eyes of someone who'd lost everything and had no more reason to live except for the sake of another. She would know—those were her eyes too.

Then she spoke, softly, like the whisper of small stream. "Because if I didn't, I'd end up just like you."

The genin picked up her bag full of vials, slid out of her seat—

"Ten minutes, Tsunade-sama," she murmured. "It was nice to meet you."

—and left.

::

Genma didn't say anything when Sakura came back to the room with a suspicious woven sack over her shoulder and a plastic bag in one hand. Curiously, he watched as she placed her things in one corner of the room before going to sit in front of the small potted cacti where she slumped forward on the table and began toying with a couple of kunai.

He let her be for about an hour, then set down the scroll he was reading. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked. He didn't expect her to answer, and when she did, he didn't quite know what to say.

"I'm... sorry for how difficult I've been these past five years. I know you guys are just trying to help me and all I've been doing is pushing you all away, but... I'll try to be better. I... I just need some time."

"Sakura..." Genma stood and walked over to where she sat, bringing a hand up to mess with her hair and pull her into a side hug. "You don't need to apologize for something like that. It's been tough on you, kid. Take all the time you need and we'll be there to listen, yeah?"

She returned the hug with her right arm and smiled. "Yeah."

They heard the sound of a door opening with a click and both turned to glance behind them. Ibiki took one step in before pointing at Sakura.

"I have no idea what you did, but the Mizukage requested to speak with you. Alone," he said. Genma returned his attention to his student.

"... What kind of flowers do you want on your grave?"

"Surprise me."

::

The Yondaime Mizukage was nothing she expected. He looked like a teenage boy that couldn't be older than fourteen, but was actually well into his twenties. He was elected into the position of Kage at a very young age by being the most powerful shinobi in the village and having perfect control over his Tailed Beast: the Sanbi. His office was clean and well organized, Sakura noted, as she was left with only him as company.

Yagura turned from gazing out over the village and welcomed her with an amicable smile. "Good afternoon, Haruno Sakura," he greeted. "I've heard much about you. It's nice to finally accompany the name to a face."

She blinked. "You've heard of me?"

"Of course. At first it was Mei, reporting to me that she was healed by a peculiar girl during her interrogation. Come a couple years later, that same peculiar girl comes into the picture again and has saved one of my own at nearly the cost of her life. I was intrigued," he said. He moved to the front of his desk and leaned back against the edge as he crossed his arms, observing her with his deep pink eyes. It was clear he wished for a reason, and Sakura stared straight at him, delivering a smile of her own.

"Mei's interrogator is a sensei of mine, sir. They tend to get carried away most of the time, so I tried to heal some of the damage she sustained before it became permanent. As for Haku, I didn't think he would've survived if I let those beams fall onto him," she explained. Yagura quirked an eyebrow.

"And you knew you would?"

"Well I'm here, aren't I?" she grinned. He chuckled, something she didn't quite expect from a supposed ruthless man like him, and nodded.

"I suppose so. But do enlighten me—you  _ are  _ a genin, correct? Considering that you saved Haku's life and that you're here on a mission with Shiranui-san and Morino-san, I find that hard to believe."

Sakura weighed her options. She could tell him the truth and put information like that in his head no matter how easily accessible it was, or she could lie and run the risk of being interrogated or jailed for such a petty offense. Not to mention she was in a room with a jinchuriki who'd been a Kage for at least ten years.

"They're my sensei, sir. So you can tell I do a lot of outside learning when I'm not with my normal designated team," she admitted. He stared at her contemplatively before tilting his head to one side.

"Haruno-san, please tell me anything and everything you know about Kirigakure... it's founding, making, and such."

Suspicious. But even she wouldn't go as far as making herself an enemy of someone as fearsome as he.

"Kirigakure was founded during the Warring States period where the Shodai Hokage sold the Sanbi to the Shodai Mizukage as a sign of trust and balance of power," she began reluctantly. "But Kiri entered several conflicts since then and led to the Nidaime Mizukage and Nidaime Tsuchikage killing each other in battle. It was up to your election, I believe, that there was a caste system implemented. Three levels; the ones at the bottom were slated on the most dangerous missions so they didn't have time to form an uprising."

Yagura regarded her blankly and urged her to continue. He was positive that she wasn't telling him everything. So she did so, but warily.

"And if I'm not mistaken, it was the third year into your reign that people with bloodlines were being slaughtered after the Tragedy," she finished. 

"What was the Tragedy called and what happened to cause it?"

She pursed her lips. "The Tragedy of Yosuga Pass. Kiri and Iwa joined forces to claim information stolen from Kumo, but Iwa double-crossed you and killed most of the shinobi assigned to that mission."

His fingers coiled into a seal, causing the room to light up in an impenetrable sound and sight barrier. 

She was in some deep shit now. The only reason she knew of this was because of meeting several Kiri-nin during her war and being fascinated by the stories and histories they'd tell her as she healed their wounds. She forgot that carrying such information to a time where the Five Nations were still separated by ingrained distrust could end in her death.

And she couldn't escape the situation now, not when her two sensei were in the village and were oblivious to what she was getting into. That, and Dan was in the midst of political relations between himself and the man who could execute her on the spot at any moment.

Yagura, sensing her growing trepidation, waved her down. "At ease, Haruno-san. I'm not going to bite."

She relaxed. A smidge.

"Before you came to my office, I asked Shiranui-san and Morino-san the same first question on separate occasions. Your answers were similar, but both failed to mention the Tragedy, the caste, and the bloodlines genocide. I dropped hints yet they still knew nothing of it, meaning you must have obtained this information through  _ your own _ means, yes?"

Sakura nodded slowly and the smile returned to his face. He couldn't fathom how someone as young as her could engage such in such illicit means without getting caught, but he was glad for it.

"Then I have a proposition for you," he announced. "If you do this for me, I'll propose a peace treaty to your Hokage upon completion."

She gaped. "What? I don't—Why would you ask me to do it? No offense, but you just met me like fifteen minutes ago!" she exclaimed. Yagura nodded, a frown stealing his lips as he turned to look out at the village from over his shoulder.

"Asking this of you is a risk, but it's the only thing I can think of, I'm afraid. In this time of reconstruction, I can't afford to spare any of my shinobi. I'll be able to tell you the details if you accept and keep this between only you and I. And I promise you, you will be rewarded greatly along with the proposal of the treaty."

Sakura scratched the side of her neck and allowed herself a whole minute to think about it. She was already doing things considered punishable under the eyes of Konoha and conspiring with well known S-Class criminals, though perhaps one more illegal act couldn't hurt?

She sighed. "I accept, Mizukage-sama."

He reached behind his desk and pulled something from a drawer, then tossed the small object to her. A simple scroll with tassels as blue as the oceans that surrounded the island. She opened it.

"You were right that in the third year of my reign that the Tragedy struck and the genocide began. But it was only in the third year that the progress I'd been with rebuilding Kiri had been torn down. The reason why I allowed it to happen was because I was under a genjutsu cast by Uchiha Madara," Yagura disclosed. His eyes hardened. "He would've controlled me for much longer, but someone released me from his control. And if what I saw was true, that person killed Madara."

Fear took hold of Sakura's throat. No, no, no... Madara wasn't supposed to be killed. He was to die from old age and have Obito take his place. The Mizukage's eyebrows furrowed, his youthful face appearing much older.

"I don't remember what the person looked like at all, like it was erased from my memory. Though there is one thing I remember prominently, and it was what Madara said to the stranger. He had a crazed look in his eyes as his blood spilled all over the floor and said  _ 'It doesn't matter if I die. I'll make sure to drive you insane.' _ But I don't think that'll help you much."

I'll make sure to drive you insane.

I'll make sure to drive you insane.

_ Obito smiled. _

_ "I'll make sure to drive you insane." _

Sakura held her mouth shut to shop the vomit from erupting past her lips. She swallowed it back down, inwardly grimacing at its vile, sour taste. If Yagura noticed, he didn't say a word.

"I want you to find the one who killed Madara, handle them in any way you see fit, then inform me of what's happened. I don't know how far you'll get with this, or if you'll get anywhere at all, but I'm willing to take the gamble on you, Haruno-san," he told her. "Take as long as you want. All I ask from you is that you perform this task to the best of your ability, even if you don't succeed."

She rewound the scroll in her hands then tucked it away in her kunai holster. "Permission to include another in this mission, sir."

Yagura leaned back. "Who?"

"A mercenary with no set affiliation. I've known them long enough to trust them with my life, and I promise they will in no way be able to jeopardize your mission," she said. He considered this for a moment, and probably also considered what a favor he was placing on the girl's shoulders, and nodded.

"Permission granted. If that will be all, you're dismissed."

She bowed and turned to grasp the handle of the door.

"Oh, and Haruno-san?"

She looked back. A small, grateful smile radiated his face.

"Thank you."

She dipped her head in respect and took her leave. As she walked down the dim halls of the Kage Tower, all she could think of was the sheer amount of treasonous acts that were piling themselves on her already filled plate.

Her shoulders slumped.

Sasori was going to have a  _ field day _ .

::

His uncle was a man he hadn't talked to for the better of the past five years. They'd pass each other in the hallways sometimes, Gaara averting his eyes to something interesting on the ground and Yashamaru trying to hold in a pained expression but failing miserably.

He wanted to forgive the person who tried to kill him. Who blamed him for his mother's death. That's what Sasori had tried to get him to do for as long as he'd known him... but how could he? He thought Yashamaru loved him, and in the end, it was just a ruse to get the chance to kill the  _ beast  _ once and for all.

Gaara stood alone in an empty hallway, cradling a pseudo-shell in his hands. It was conch shaped the same size as his palm, carved from a pale pink stone.

When he first met Sakura, he showed her all his favorite places in the oasis and told her of the best spots to visit in Suna. She came back the next day and the day after that and he was more than ecstatic he had someone to hang out with for such a long time. Sure he had Sasori and he loved him to bits, but it was nice to have someone his age to talk to.

Before she left, she'd given him the stone shell and he marveled at how pretty it was. He'd never been given something so precious before.

_ "This is made from rose quartz," Sakura said. "It means love, peace, and happiness. And it's said to have these magical powers." _

_ Gaara leaned forward, awe sparkling in his eyes. _

_ "The crystal has a powerful effect to heal personal relationships. Any problems you may have with someone else, this can channel energy to help fix it." _

_ He avoided her stare and ran his fingers over the shell doubtfully. Heal relationships? Nothing had the power to do that. He must have said that out loud because Sakura immediately nudged him after the thought. _

_ "Of course there is!" she exclaimed. "If you want to heal a badly broken relationship, then you've got to go up to that person and talk. The only way to get things done is to communicate. And if you have that stone with you, it'll help. Just as long as you believe that you can do it. It doesn't mean it'll work, but you have to try." _

_ The glimmer came back to his eyes. "Really?" _

_ She grinned. "Really." _

_ He liked Sakura. She knew so much and was so smart, so he had to pay her back somehow, didn't he? Gaara jumped to his feet, told her to wait right there, ran to the village, got something from his room, and ran straight back. _

_ He then gave her his favorite potted cactus. _

The stone was supposed to help him have the power to mend his relationships. Maybe it would help with some, not with others, but he had to do what Sakura urged him and what Sasori had been wanting him to do for years.

He had to try.

Gaara slipped the shell into his pocket and took a deep breath before knocking on the door in front of him. It opened a few seconds later, revealing the man he had been avoiding this whole time.

Yashamaru held onto the door knob like it was the only thing that tethered him to the physical world.

"Gaara-sama..." he whispered.

"Yashamaru," the boy returned quietly. "Can I... talk to you?"

With shock still fitted around every one of his nerves like a noose, the man stepped aside and let his nephew through the threshold. His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he willed himself to calm down. Five years had passed since he made the foolish mistake of accepting the mission of testing Gaara's control of his demon. 

Why now? He was sure Gaara would never trust him again and he never expected to be forgiven for what he'd done, but...

"Do you want something to drink? Tea? Milk?" Yashamaru asked, trying to keep his voice as level and lively as possible. He walked over to the boy who'd hesitantly taken a seat at the dining table. Gaara shook his head.

"No thank you," he murmured. His uncle took a seat at the other end- too far to reach out to but too close to avoid. Yashamaru looked down at the polished wood surface. Empty silence had become their world for the last half a decade. There was nothing said, as nothing  _ could  _ be said, between them. The rift was too wide and no one made a move to try to get across.

Until now.

"Gaara-sa—"

"I trusted you," he whispered. A small hand grasped the edge of his seat as the other held the lump in his pocket. Yashamaru froze. "You used to take care of me when nobody else did. Tou-sama never loved me. But you tried to." Sea-foam green eyes saddened and shone in the soft lighting. "You were the only one who smiled at me every day and didn't run when I wanted to talk."

Outside, night had taken the village. There were no stars, only wind and the promise of an upcoming sandstorm.

"Maybe you're happier now that you don't have to see me anymore, but I just want to know... you still hate me, don't you? You don't have to lie this time."

Yashamaru's hair, now swaying just past his shoulders, hung over his face and obscured any expression from being seen. But Gaara saw the teardrops that fell onto the table, one by one, little by little, until a small sob echoed in his ears.

"I never hated you," he said, faintly. "Not once in your entire life. When Karu- your mother found she was pregnant, I grinned and crouched down to tell her stomach—to tell you that I couldn't wait to meet you. I didn't lie then. When you were born, I was so happy that I had another nephew to love and treat as my own child."

His head raised and Gaara couldn't help but gasp.

He'd never seen so many tears before.

"I never believed you were the one who killed her. You were just a baby. A monster they said... no. Never. You were just born, an innocent soul who'd done nothing wrong, who still had his entire life to be raised with all the love you deserved and I—!"

Yashamaru sunk forward, one hand reaching up to grasp his hair and the other to wipe his eyes in an effort to collect himself to no avail.

"... I'm sorry," he croaked. "I'm so sorry."

Silence came again. It wasn't as empty as it had been before but there was still something missing. He could find out, Gaara thought, he could try to find that piece out and everything with his uncle would be better.

But he knew something like this couldn't be fixed in one night.

"...It's getting late. I should be back by now."

The man sniffed and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Y-Yes, you..." he took a deep breath. "Yes. You should be heading home."

Gaara nodded shakily and padded over to the front door. He opened it just wide enough so that he could barely slip through and heard a short whisper that followed him out.

"Goodnight, Gaara-sama."

The door shut and the boy let out a whisper of his own.

"Goodnight."

He pulled a pink sea shell from his pocket and held it close to his chest as he walked down the hall, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest and the fact that his vision was turning into a watery blur.

::

**EDITED 2.10.18**


	52. Omake V: Haruno

Tenten didn't act immediately on her surprise. She gaped at the sniffling girl for a few moments, taking in the sudden appearance of blood red eyes with three tomoe slowly spinning in each iris. 

Uchiha. No, that couldn't be right. That wasn't possible, unless Sasuke...? But Sasuke wouldn't have.

But that wasn't what mattered right now.

When she finally collected herself, she helped Sachiko to her feet and led her to the entrance of her shop. She flipped the sign so the closed side faced the streets and steered the teen to the back where there was a small table, a fridge, a microwave, and a TV hanging in the corner.

"Tea?" Tenten questioned softly.

Sachiko nodded and shrugged off her pack, stiffening only when Tenten eased herself at the table beside her and placed two cups down with a soft  _ clink  _ against the wood. The woman patted her shoulder reassuringly before her expression took on a more serious note.

"Now I won't press you on anything you don't want to talk about, but... sorry, Sachiko-san, could you tell me what's going on? The only conclusion I can come up with is that Sasuke's your father and you're definitely older than his kid, and who knows what he was up to in the war."

Sachiko fiddled with her fingers. From her mother's letters, she knew that Sasuke would of course have a family because he wanted to revive his clan- but there was a time in her mother's life where she was in love with him. A small part of her thought that maybe he had some heart in him to love Sakura back and take some remorse for himself after killing her. But no, he was happy and content with a family of his own and she had no right to judge him for what he did with his life.

_ The only right she had was to be sure her mother's name wasn't remembered in vain. _

She looked up at the kind, sincere face of a person who wanted to understand.

_ Tenten... I don't know what to say to her. If you ever get the chance, tell her I wish I was there for her. _

"I was born during the war. Two years before it ended and grew up in a small town on Fire Country's border," Sachiko murmured. "I never met my parents, but all I've been hearing since finding out who my kaa-san was, everyone keeps telling me she's a war hero. She died twelve years ago and now, her name's on the memorial in the cemetery."

Tenten leaned forward and peered into the depths of those sad, sad red eyes. She took the time to imagine them when they were green again and thought to why they looked so familiar, or why those eyes made her feel like- in a less literal sense- one of the dead had been brought back to life.

Eyes like—

"Sakura... was your kaa-san's name, wasn't it?" she whispered. A timid nod was her reply, and she sat back while releasing a heavy breath.

"Holy—then Sasuke really is-"

"No," the girl interrupted quietly. If it were possible, she looked even more miserable and disheartened as what she said next tumbled from her lips as smoothly as steel being driven against bone. "Kaa-san was tortured for twelve hours and I was born later that year." The tomoe of her sharingan spun just a tad faster. "Her torturer's name was Uchiha Obito. All I know of him is that he was Hatake-san's teammate, he started the war, and I'm his daughter."

Tenten didn't know what to say. A part of her started to mourn once again as she slowly digested what her comrade-  _ friend _ \- had to suffer through. The other part of her wanted to collect this poor girl in her arms and tell her how sorry she was that a monster was her father and that she never got the chance to meet the strong, passionate kunoichi that was Haruno Sakura.

Before she could, though, the sound of a default ringtone fluttered about the room. Sachiko looked apologetic, but Tenten waved it off and let her answer.

"H-Hello?"

**_//_ ** _ Sachiko. I paid a visit to the Hokage and told him about your situation minus some of the major details and said I'd bring you to meet him sometime soon, but when I mentioned your name and what you looked like, he told me to bring you to his office right away. Did something happen? _ **_//_ **

Her cheeks darkened. "I'm sorry, I di-didn't mean, I... I yelled at him earlier. I'm sorry."

**_//_ ** _ You...? Okay, never mind. We can discuss that later. Where are you now? _ **_//_ **

She spared a glance at the Weapon's Mistress. "I'm with Tenten-san at her shop."

**_//_ ** _ Great, I'll- _ **_//_ **

"And she, uh, knows. About me."

There was a beat of silence.

**_//_ ** _ Ah. Well, it should be fine if she accompanies you to the Tower, then? _ **_//_ **

Tenten, having heard the whole conversation, answered smoothly. "I'll bring her there no worries, senpai."

**_//_ ** _ Good. I'll see you both soon. _ **_//_ **

When she lowered the phone and let the screen fade to black, she caught the reflection of herself in the smudged screen.

Whose eyes were those?!

Sachiko pocketed her device as Tenten got up to lead her to the Tower.

"You can leave your bag here and pick it up after the meeting and I'll be sure to lock up so all your things are safe. Let's head out and see the Nanadaime- he won't get mad at you for yelling at him, I promise. He's got a good heart."

A good heart.

Like the heart that was mangled out of her mother's chest because he and Sasuke were stupid enough to try and kill each other when so many people believed in them?

Sachiko pressed her lips together and ducked her head as she walked down the street at Tenten's side, keeping her eyes out of sight. Where did  _ that  _ come from? Where was she getting all this morbidity?!

The Tower was a huge mute-red building that stood in front of the grand Hokage Monument of seven faces, behind it on a steeper ledge being dozens of new structures and skyscrapers that were in the middle of construction. Konoha truly was beautiful, and it made her wonder about it sometimes-- about how different her life would've been if she grew up here.

She would've trained to be a shinobi, perhaps. To grow stronger and protect people who couldn't do it for themselves. To protect people like her mother.

All too soon they entered the building where they climbed a few flights of stairs and saw Kakashi out in the hallway, leaning against a wall and reading a purple book in his hands.

"Senpai!" Tenten called. He turned to regard them with a content eye crinkle, but ended up freezing at the sight of Sachiko. He was crouched down in front of her in an instant and stared straight into her eyes, making her flinch at the sudden and unexpected movement.

"When did you activate it?" he asked. His voice was low and serious and she gulped.

"It's... It's the sharingan, right?" she mumbled. He nodded and she averted her gaze. "I-I don't know, I yelled at Nanadaime-sama, then I ran, then Tenten-san found me, so I don't..."

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. Even if the girl was an Uchiha, she was undoubtedly a civilian who had no prior shinobi training before meeting him and Yamato at the inn. She wasn't supposed to have the ability to unlock her sharingan, especially one with all three tomoe intact and spinning. He glanced down at her.

Kami, if Naruto wasn't going to like this one bit, where did that leave Sasuke?

"Do you know how to turn it off?"

Sachiko shook her head. He sighed. No, of course not. She didn't even know about her kekkai genkai until she read Sakura's letter.

"Then I think you should brace yourself for the explanation that's about to come. Tenten, would you mind coming in to mediate if you could?"

She laid a hand on the girl's shoulders and smiled. "Not a problem."

So the three of them entered the office together, Kakashi first, Sachiko next, and Tenten trailing behind as she lightly steered the teeth through the door.

The first thing Sachiko noticed was not the Hokage anxiously waiting by his desk, but the other person who occupied the space. The man, dressed in a light purple vest and a gray long sleeved shirt, had his back towards her with his stark black hair brushing against his collar. The aura he exuded wasn't as kind as Tenten's or as aloof as Kakashi's, but was dampened with something heavy that warned her he wasn't someone to cross.

He didn't have to turn around for her to realize, frighteningly, that this was the other teammate the letters had told her stories of.

The other half of the coin. The darker side of Team Seven's light.

Her mother's second murderer.

::

Naruto came to attention when his door opened and three people swept into the room. Kakashi, his old mentor, the strange girl who yelled at him, and Tenten, a loyal friend.

He wasn't going to lie to himself. Hearing those words through screams and tears at the Memorial not only sent him careening into a type of hurt that he didn't think could happen to him again, but made him question everything he knew about Sakura. A daughter? When? How? Why? It couldn't possibly be true, but...

... but her outburst had so much pain behind it that he found it hard not to believe her.

When he opened his mouth to confront her, he locked eyes with the girl. "You—"

He stopped, eyes rounding considerably before he flashed Kakashi a hard look.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of his Kage as he too turned to face the newcomers. Two people he recognized and one he didn't. And the little girl that stood there had eyes of two glistening rubies each dotted with three tomoe the color of the darkest ash.

He reacted on impulse.

Before anyone could stop what was about to happen, Sasuke had grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt and hoisted her up so that her toes barely skimmed the ground. She cried out as his black eyes twisted into what she remembered reading as the eternal sharingan.

_ I know there was a time when Sasuke loved his brother. But that time was long gone and what Itachi did to their family wrenched him apart and made him a person who longed for revenge and would do anything just to meet his goal no matter how many people he had to kill along the way. And yes, there were times that he tried to kill me too for getting in the way, for being weak, for being too much of a burden. _

_ People like him... I don't think you should get too close. Naruto loved him. I loved him. But he was poisonous. _

_ Even now with what I'm going to do, it makes me wonder. _

_ Is he really worth it? _

"Why do you have those eyes?!" he demanded. True terror sprinted across her face as she stared into the dark depths of red and black. She could hear the shouts of  _ 'Stop!'  _ and  _ 'Let her go!'  _ and  _ 'Sasuke!'  _ in the background, but she could barely hear them over the sound of her own heart beating wildly in her ears.

Heart.

Sharingan.

Uchiha.

_ Her mother's second murderer. _

All of a sudden, she snapped.

"So what are you going to do?" she hissed. She had done it so quietly and resentfully that it brought about a spell of chilling surprise from the witnesses. "Strangle me? Stab me? Or are you going to kill me the same way you killed Haruno Sakura- by ripping my heart out of my chest?"

Sasuke dropped her like his hand was scorched.

Tenten was at Sachiko's side in a second, checking to see if she was hurt and throwing up glares at the Uchiha who backed up until he returned to his spot at the opposite end of the room.

Naruto bit his lip, took a deep breath, and placed his attention on Kakashi once more. "Is she really Sakura-chan's daughter?"

Sasuke's neck twisted to the right so quickly that an audible crack echoed in the room. Kakashi stood at Sachiko's other side protectively, half-expecting his old student to be at her neck again.

"Yes."

Naruto sucked in another breath. "How sure are you?"

"Sachiko approached Tenzou and I at the inn we stayed at before coming here. She had a box full of things we never recovered. Pictures of Sakura's friends and family, the first Team Seven photo, her hitai-ate," he replied. "She had blood work done earlier. The machines matched her DNA 99% with Sakura's."

"And... And the sharingan?"

Kakashi and Tenten exchanged solemn glances before he answered truthfully; morosely. "Uchiha Obito."

Naruto's face appeared so naive and innocent. He was so... confused when that name was said that it took about ten seconds, ten long, painful, seconds for him to realize the bitter undertone in which it was said. Next, his face morphed into one of disbelief. No, that would never happen to Sakura. That couldn't. Fate could never be so cruel to someone he loved so much. And finally, there was anger. Simmering under his skin that brought his blood to a boil.

"That  _ bastard _ ..."

Sakura-chan. Their Sakura-chan. All these years and they never had a damn clue.

The girl's cries came back to him in one fell swoop that had him holding onto his desk for support.

_ "Do you still think she did what she did because she loved you?!" _

And it wasn't just a letter she'd left for her daughter. It was a suicide letter. Suicide.  _ Oh god _ . A humorless laugh trickled past clenched teeth.

"Uchiha Sachiko, huh?"

Sachiko stared at him, a renewed vigor flooding her veins. "No."

"No...?"

Her sharingan receded back into its emerald green, but that only seemed to make the ache in Naruto's chest grow stronger. "Because my name is Haruno Sachiko and I won't be known as anything other than that."

The back of Naruto's eyes burned with the threat of tears.

All the while, Sasuke didn't spare a look at her. Her words struck a chord so close to home that his mind stopped functioning when she mentioned that name. Then when Kakashi revealed just exactly who she was and implied the torment that had befallen  _ her _ , he remembered the blood that colored his hands and the years he spent trying to wash it off.

No, he wouldn't look at her.

Couldn't.

But Sasuke willed himself to for one moment and caught sight of how green her true eyes were.

That feeling came back to him.  _ Her  _ blood on his hands, pooling around his knees, so much that it stained his skin and clothes and  _ dear Kami how can a body have so much blood no stop she can't die she can't die she can't no no no what have you _ done—

He cast his stare down at his hands, seeing the red heart he tore away from  _ her _ .

_ 'I'm sorry, Sakura.' _

Sasuke raised his eyes again and saw Sachiko's face—somber and angry with eyes as bright as what her mother's used to be.

_ 'But I know now that won't ever be enough.' _

::

_To be continued in Omake VI: Truth_

::

**EDITED 2.11.18**


	53. Crash

No one could keep a front up forever, and Sakura knew that most of all.

It was just that when she thought she'd finally crack from the pressure, it would be an angry outburst at her reflection in the mirror or a sobbing rage she'd inflict on a training ground that wished her no harm. She thought she'd have time—perhaps a few years at most before she lost control.

It wasn't.

It had been a merely a day after her return from her mission with Ibiki and Genma, and all it took was an apology she didn't expect and a crying girl that stopped her for a moment.

No, Sakura didn't think she'd break down in the middle of a busy street.

And she certainly didn't expect Kakashi there to witness.

::

Ibiki opened the cabinet above the sink, hoping to eat a bowl of cereal before heading down to his office where millions of piles of paperwork he missed the duration of the month would mock him the next several days. And instead of finding something decent, the oddly difficult tug of the handle revealed that the cabinet was actually no longer a cabinet, but a cooled containment unit that held several rows of filled vials.

Poisons, probably.

"Sakura!" he called. Her voice filtered out from somewhere down the hall.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you put the cornflakes?"

"Um... try the cabinet to the left!"

And he did. But he was rewarded with another difficult tug and another cooled containment unit with even more vials. "It's not this one!"

"Then the one beneath the sink?!"

That one had three jars in it. One filled to the brim with dead snakes, one crawling with the spiders from Suna, and the third filled with a dark liquid he was pretty sure was blood. To who or what it belonged to, he didn't know. Sakura entered the kitchen and peered over his shoulder.

"Huh. I was pretty sure I put those somewhere else," she said. "Did you try the pantry? That's where most the food is."

He stood and walked over to it. "You sure there's not a dead body inside?"

"Ha! I wouldn't keep dead bodies in the same place twice, old man. Keep up!"

And besides, it's not like the body was human. It was just one of the enormous centipedes from Training Ground 44 and she cleared out everything in there before stuffing the body inside for later use. Ibiki hadn't minded in the slightest, now far too used to her quirks at this point, and told her to make sure none of its bug juice got on the rugs or curtains. Genma screamed bloody murder when he came over for a snack. Anko laughed and high-fived her for doing a good job.

Finally finding the cereal in the body-free pantry, he plucked a bowl from the drying rack and watched Sakura work away at some formulas in her notebook.

"Poison work?"

"Yup."

"The two cabinets with the ones you already have ain't enough?" he asked. She clicked her pen and opened one of the cabinets to pull out a line of poisons and set it on the counter.

"Oh, they're enough. I'm actually working on the antidotes right now because literally every vial you saw is filled with pure toxin."

He stuffed a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth. "I hope you realize this is a kitchen. You know, where we  _ store  _ and  _ prepare  _ the things we need to  _ live _ ."

She waved a hand nonchalantly. "Oh please, I'm not that careless. If I hadn't used chakra-enforced glass containers and sealed them off with tags, you know we'd both be dead by now."

How reassuring.

But he wasn't going to tell her to stop doing what she was doing. She'd been sinking herself into her work on poisons, seals, and chakra control ever since she was suspended and even if she already had a disposition towards that kind of work, she was using all her spare time to focus on it because she didn't want to think about what happened.

"You did clean all that shit from the pantry before putting the food back, right?"

She was a good kid. He didn't blame her.

"Yes, old man. I'd never put your beloved cereal in any harm."

But there must be something around for her to do besides being cooped up in the house all day. Genma promised a friend he'd help out with something today, he was sure Anko had a handful of cases lined up, and he wouldn't be done with the work until at least this time next week.

"I don't want you working on this the whole day. Go outside," Ibiki said. He got up and slipped his empty bowl into the sink and moved to the fridge to get the gallon of orange juice. Now, there were the last three overhead cabinets he had yet to open and he had a feeling the cups weren't in either one.

Sakura let out an exaggerated sigh. "Outside?" she groaned. "I was outside plenty when we were on the mission."

He opened the one beside the two cooled containment units and was met with several supplies. Scalpels, test tubes, syringes, droppers, a med kit, and other stuff of the sort.

"Really? I didn't notice. Unless you want to tell me what you did those two weeks you were gone, maybe how you managed for Momochi Zabuza and Terumi Mei to buy you dinner. Or you could tell me what you did when you left at two in the morning and came back with a bag full of sea creatures," he suggested, closing the cabinet.

"I'd rather go outside."

He opened the fourth cabinet from the right next. There were even more jars—animal or bug specimens suspended in fluid and one that was just filled with eyeballs.

"Fine with me as long as you do," he shrugged. He closed that cabinet too and went over to the last one. "If you can't think of anything, I have a list of errands you can run."

"For once, I might take you up on that," she said. The very last overhead cabinet was stocked with dozens of canisters of dried plants. He didn't think she'd be engaged on the medicinal side of things too, aside from healing. Ibiki shut it and tossed his ward a level stare.

"All of this is legal, right?"

She stopped writing and blinked. "What?"

"I'm sure you have over twenty different types of poisons, more than half not even found in Konoha. Doing work like this usually requires a permit from the Hokage," he informed slowly. When he saw the sheepish grin inching onto her face, he pinched his temple. "Of course. Stupid question. Everything you do is illegal."

"Not  _ everything _ ," she protested. "You heard what Genma said—if I don't get caught, it's not illegal. And I don't get caught for most things I do, I'll have you know."

Ibiki quirked an eyebrow. "Are you incriminating yourself?"

"No, because I haven't admitted to anything. And don't act all surprised, you're always accusing me of doing something you don't know about anyways."

He snorted. "Only because it's true," he reminded. He opened the cabinets attached to the island counter, inwardly basking in relief as he found all the dishes, cups, and utensils neatly arranged inside. Finally. "Now go get the errand list from my desk and make  _ 'get the damned poisons permit from the Hokage'  _ your top priority."

He didn't have to see her to know she pouted as she slipped off the stool to get what he requested from his room. As he poured himself a glass of juice, her outraged cry rang out.

"Old man! There's a billion things on this list—it'll take me hours to do them!"

"Then I suggest you get started."

She stomped back into the kitchen, muttering something under her breath, and cleaned all her stuff from the counter top. "You win this round, but don't think next time'll be just as easy!" she exclaimed. Sakura trudged to the door and pulled on her sandals. "Trust me! I'll get you back for this!"

He ignored the lousy threat and instead bid her goodbye the same way he always did. "Don't get arrested."

And in her familiar fashion, she responded. "Wouldn't dream of it. See you later, old man!"

The door clicked shut behind her.

::

When she was a good distance away from the house, she let Yori climb up from her pocket and nestle himself on her shoulder and hide beneath the fabric of her shirt. The newest letter from Sasori was as expected.

_ A top secret mission.  _

_ From the Mizukage. _

_ And you tell me I'm an idiot for letting Kisame know about the time travel thing. No, no, wait. Scratch that. This is about as damn crazy as the time you told me you want to make Itachi the Rokudaime. _

_ Also. _

_ What the hell do you mean Madara's dead?! _

_ You have a lot of explaining to do. _

**_~_ Marionette**

"Did that man truly cause you that much trouble in the other timeline?" Yori questioned. Sakura turned a corner and got on the path towards Dan's office.

"If it weren't for his influence, the war would've never happened in the first place. But whoever managed to kill him is the problem now. There's only one person I can think of that has the power to kill someone like him, and if it's really who I think it is, it doesn't add up."

It really  _ didn't  _ add up in the slightest bit. No one aside Tobi and Zetsu knew Madara was still alive and the chances were more than slim that someone of great power could find out about his existence and then proceed to successfully kill him. Knowledge like that simply couldn't exist unless that aspect of the world changed too.

Or, maybe there was one small thing intentionally altered, like someone's way of thinking, that created a ripple effect?

"Yori."

"Yes, Sakura-san?"

She glanced around to make sure no one was around to listen. "I... nothing. Nevermind. Here, let me write up a reply to him real quick and you can take it back. I don't want to bore you with these errands anyways," she said. She scribbled a short answer to his missive and gave it to the scorpion.

_ Just come as soon as you can and I'll tell you what I know. _

**~H.S.**

::

Kakashi had his book open as his two students struggled to gather the correct amount of chakra to help them climb the bark of a tree. Sasuke kept summoning too much, causing him to splinter the wood every time he got a couple of steps up. Naruto, in turn, kept summoning too little and would always tumble back onto the ground.

"Dobe, use more chakra."

"I'm  _ trying _ !"

"You're not trying hard enough."

"But if I use too much I'll break the tree too!"

"Then don't use as much as me!"

"I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'RE USING, 'TTEBAYO!"

Kakashi flipped a page and focused on the first word.

_... and the man stares. Stares for minutes, then hours, then days. For... _

He squinted at the text. When did he get to this part? He could've sworn he was reading a much earlier section. So, he turned a few pages back and started reading from the part he remembered.

_ The man looks at himself in the mirror and is asked what he sees. He stares long and hard only to reply that it is himself. His face, his clothes, the glasses on his nose. But the one who asked says he's wrong and says to look with his heart. _

_ "My heart has no eyes, therefore it cannot do your bidding." _

_ "Then perhaps you..." _

Kakashi's mind wandered off even as his eyes stayed the same. He left Sakura's file on Ibiki's desk and left before anyone at T&I saw him. That was days ago, but... he was still haunted by what he read. What he watched. What he listened to. He couldn't get what he learned out of his head. A part of him didn't want to believe it. Another part wished he never touched the file in the first place. A third wanted to forget everything about her.

And the whole of him wanted to tell her that he was sorry.

Unconsciously, he turned a page of his book.

Long before he met his teammates, he had a father: The Great White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo. He was a man with a heart of gold and took care of Kakashi to the best of his ability when his wife passed on. He made sure to teach his son the ways of a ninja to ensure that he would grow up making the right decisions. It didn't matter if everyone else thought it was wrong—if he knew it was right then that was good enough.

But then the whispers came. Kakashi heard them well. His father went on a mission and made the split decision to save his teammates instead of following through with a mission at a great expense to Konoha. Sakumo was hated and shunned for the choice he made.

What I did was right, Sakumo told him.

Nothing's wrong, Sakumo said.

I'm okay, Sakumo would smile.

But Kakashi didn't believe him. And one stormy night, his five year old self crept down the stairs. A small echo of a thump washed over his house and he'd gone to inspect what it was. A mouse? An intruder?

No.

His father's dead body after he committed seppuku.

An honorable death, it was called. Suicide. Kakashi saw nothing honorable about it. So there, him as a newly minted genin, promised himself that he'd follow the rules no questions asked. If a superior gave an order, it was to be followed. He swore to himself that if he had any students of his own, he would drill the rules into their skulls so none of them disobeyed his words.

_ But Sakura did. _

Kakashi turned a page.

When he became jounin and met his new team years later, he slowly learned to treasure them. Rin supported him with her unconditional love, Obito fought him with the morals he held high and the determination he had to his friends, and Minato wanted to guide them all to greatness. Even if he didn't show it on the outside, Kakashi grew to love the three of them. They were his family and he wouldn't let them go no matter what.

Then Iwa. Then Kakashi couldn't move. Then Rin pushed him out of the way and died when he should've been the one to take the fall.

He decided at that moment he would never let that happen again. In blood he swore he'd never let a teammate sacrifice their life for the sake of another.

_ But Sakura did. _

Kakashi turned a page.

He lost so many people he deemed that he should make no connection so he would hurt anymore.

But one day, the Hokage pulled him off ANBU and assigned him three brats who graduated early. They declared themselves a team the moment he met them and made themselves clear they wouldn't trade each other for the world. Useless, he thought. They wouldn't stand a chance. They were just going to die like everyone else. He wasn't going to waste his time.

Then a little girl waltzed up to him and began to chisel away the perfect little wall he constructed for himself. She would not listen to him, she went against protocol, she wouldn't address him properly, and she would laugh in the face of his failures.

He was sure no one could change the way he saw the world.

_ But Sakura did. _

Kakashi refocused on the page he was reading and knitted his eyebrows. Where was he now? He wasn't reading this page a minute ago.

_ Then the man could see. _

_ "What do you see?" the one who asked repeats. The man reaches out, fingers touching glass and splaying across the cool surface. _

_ "I see... I see..." _

Kakashi shut the book and stood.

He saw that he had to fix what he'd done.

As he tucked the book away in his pouch, he raised his head. Sasuke and Naruto laid in heaps on the grass. Their chakra was low and it appeared that they couldn't continue their exercise without severely hurting themselves.

"Sasuke. Naruto."

They glanced in his direction. Unhappily, since they still firmly held onto the grudge of what he did to their friend.

"What? We're training like you said," Sasuke hissed. Kakashi shook his head.

"You both have trained enough. You can take the day off to rest," he said. The two genin exchanged surprised glances before Naruto stood on wobbly legs.

"Sensei, if you think this is gonna make us forgive you then—"

"No," the jounin interrupted quietly. "You both have been working hard and you deserve the break. So enjoy yourselves for the duration of the day. Please."

Sasuke got up to stand next to the blonde with a tightened jaw. Kakashi never said please before. Hell, Kakashi had never been so polite in giving them time off before. Naruto didn't look convinced, but he was certainly confused.

"Why're you—"

"Dobe, let's go. We'll get some ramen or whatever."

His stare wavered on his sensei a little while longer, blue swaying in an unusually thoughtful manner before he turned and walked off with Sasuke.

"Ramen, ramen, ramen~!" he cheered. Naruto threw a look over his shoulder for good measure but found that Kakashi was already gone.

::

"Get a permit, he said. It's the legal way, he said," Sakura grumbled. "Well guess what you old bastard, I got three copies and I'll frame one up right in the kitchen so when you eat your damn cornflakes it'll be all up in your dumb face."

Without an appointment with the Hokage, she stayed in the waiting room for about two hours before she was called up. There, she had to explain an abridged version of her poison-seeking adventures and her inclination to mithridatism to an incredulous Dan and Shizune. She felt some embarrassment when she informed him of the home-made lab she made and he laughed at her ingenuity.

But he signed a permit without any more questions and made copies at her request.

So here she was now, walking through Konoha with the permits in her pocket and her nose buried in Ibiki's errand list. Pay a visit to some shinobi, get some things from other offices- why couldn't he get a secretary instead of making her do his work?

Oh. Right. Because you had to pay for secretaries and she was a student who had to listen to her stupid sensei.

"Old man better get me desserts for doing this," she muttered. She sighed and tilted her head up. The sky was nice today with some more clouds than usual. It had been a while since she saw any of her friends still at the Academy. Maybe she could rope Shikamaru and Chouji in for some cloud gazing? Maybe a game of shogi? Or she could meet up with Naruto and Sasuke after their training session and—

She sighed again.

"Kakashi, I'm not really in the mood right now," she said. She didn't have to turn around to know that he appeared just a ways away from her with his normal blank face.

"Your skill with chakra was not overstated in your dossier, it seems."

Sakura spun around lazily and crossed her arms. "You finally went ahead and read my files, huh? So that's why you're here? Pity? I don't want to hear it," she said. His eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly.

"I'm not here to pity you."

"Oh look, you're the first," she mumbled. She looked back to the paper in her hands and sighed a third time. "Whatever, I'm running errands I want to finish. Walk with me and say what you have to say."

He complied. Kakashi trailed behind her quietly as they entered the busier streets of Konoha. He read the list she had from over her shoulder, noting the names of people she had to see were of jounin or ANBU status.  _ Morino's student _ , he had to remind himself.  She wasn't like an ordinary genin.

"So what—"

"I'm sorry."

Sakura stopped and twisted to her left.

"Sorry?" she echoed quietly. That wasn't what she expected at all. A reprimanding for going on that mission she absolutely had clearance for maybe, but never sorry.

Not even the other Kakashi,  _ her  _ Kakashi, ever told her sorry.

"For letting my emotions get the best of me and suspending you. I should've thought better," he clarified. He looked anywhere that wasn't at her, and that was probably as sincere as she was ever going to see him. She turned back around, scratching at her neck and fumbling for the right words to say.

"Oh... um, I..."

She was interrupted by the sound of sobbing and hiccuping somewhere nearby. Beneath the shade of a tree on a bench sat a little girl, sniffling and rubbing her eyes as her father knelt down in front of her, his lips pulled down into a worried frown.

"What's the matter, princess?" he asked her. The girl wiped at her face with her sleeve.

"Why... Why's Mama not here, Papa?"

::

Kakashi heard the quiet cries too and lifted his head towards the source.

"Why... Why's Mama not here, Papa?"

Her father's eyes widened.  "Princess?"

"What did I do wrong, Papa? It's me, isn't it? What did I do? Papa, what did I do to make Mama leave? What did I do to make mama not love me?"

He felt a small pang having to hear those words come from a girl the victim of an unfortunate circumstance, but there was nothing he could think about it. Kakashi could only hope that when the girl grew up, she'd realize none of it was her fault, whatever it was. He moved his attention back to Sakura and blanched upon finding that she was crouched on the ground.

Her hands were fisted in her hair and her breaths were short and sporadic, sweat dripping from her brow as she shook and muttered through strangled gasps.

"I'm sorry, I'm sor- _ gasp _ -Sachiko, I'm sorry—!"

A panic attack. She was having another panic attack.

Kakashi shunshinned the both of them away before the people's stares could make it worse.

He and Sakura reappeared in his apartment where she landed on the couch and pressed herself as far into the cushions as she could, still struggling to get a breath in a mumbling of incoherent syllables. Kakashi quickly thought back to that video- that horrible, horrible video- and recalled verbatim what Obito did to calm her down.

"Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose. Can you hear me? Sakura,  _ can you hear me _ ?"

She looked up at him, her breaths quickening and her skin growing paler.

"Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose," he repeated. "Take a deep breath through your nose, count to five, and breathe out through your nose. I am Hatake Kakashi. You know me. I know you can remember."

It took her a few minutes to finally collect herself, and when she did, she stayed huddled against the old couch cushions with her hands plastered to her neck. Kakashi was glad that she was able to calm down before any harm could come to her, but he wondered what could set off such a violent reaction. It had to be that little girl crying about her mother. No one else was there.

And she kept saying a name over and over.

Sachiko.

He had to know.

"Sakura," he called softly. She raised her head once more to nervously meet his stare. "Who's Sachiko?"

Years, she built up a barrier around herself. No one except Sasori would know what she did and what it took for her to be this way. She promised herself she wouldn't tell a soul about the girl she left behind-- it didn't have to be about the time travel, no, because there was no way she'd admit that as such, but it was her story she was scared of letting someone know. She wasn't going to tell a single soul about it. Never. She'd never ever reveal one of the biggest reasons why she hated herself so much.

She wouldn't tell.

But.

She couldn't stop her resolve from slipping and shattering into a million pieces because she couldn't hold it in any longer, and she crashed.

"She was just a little girl, Kakashi!" Sakura wailed. Tears sprung from her eyes. "She was just a little girl and I couldn't take care of her because I was scared! I was the only one she had left and because of what I did, I'll never see her again!" She crumpled in on herself. "I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am! I couldn't even see her—she asked for me! She wondered where I was! She was the the daughter of the man who raped me and I promised that I'd take care of her and I didn't! She believed in me! She believed in me and I let her down!"

Kakashi tried to speak but no sound came out of his mouth. She continued her tirade through her tears, her small body wracking with the force of her sobs.

"I used to visit her. I snuck out just to see her," she whimpered. "I wanted to make sure she was okay after the death of  _ that man _ . But when I visited I... I made sure she wouldn't see me. I couldn't let her. And now... now she's gone. I won't be able to see her anymore and it's  _ all my fault _ ."

Sakura took a gulp of air.

"She was so young when I let her go," she whispered brokenly. Kakashi slid beside her and took a gentle grip on her shoulder.

"You did what you could, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. I told her I wouldn't leave her and I loved her but I... I couldn't have her look up to me. She couldn't see me anymore and when she realized I wouldn't come by and asked why I didn't love her-"

Sakura cut herself off and dissolved into another fit of sobs. He steeled in his emotions and tried to get through to her again.

"You can only be the best you can be. You can only be you and if there are some things you can't do, you can't blame yourself for that," he said, almost pleadingly. "Your best is enough. You don't have to force yourself to do anything else."

Her eyes went ablaze with desperation.

"What if it's not enough, Kakashi? What if I can't be there for everyone else I care about? What if I let them down just like I did to her? I can't fail them—Naruto, Sasuke, Haku, I won't allow it!" she cried. "I can't be a failure anymore! I can take it all, I'll suffer in their stead! They don't deserve it and I'll do what it takes to make sure none of them turn out like  _ me _ ! But if I'm the one that's hurt and they're not, then that's okay!"

Then, just like her, Kakashi was met with a crash of his own.

"No. It's not," he whispered. He sunk down to his knees and took hold of both her shoulders and forced her to look at him, his own set of tears threatening to leak down masked cheeks. "You don't ever talk about yourself like that."

He looked down, ashamed of himself. God, why hadn't he seen it before?

"I know I haven't been there for the three of you ever since I became your sensei. When you all needed me most, I disappeared, let you all down," he said, raising his eyes to meet hers again, "punished you for doing nothing wrong. Sakura, I don't want you to put your life at stake because you think it's not as important as everyone else's. There's a reason why you're here now,  _ alive  _ when you think you shouldn't be. There are people who care about you, who love you. When I ran to the hospital and carried you when I thought you were going to die..." His voice cracked. "... Please, Sakura. Please don't do this to yourself. I want you to live and I want you to be happy."

And Sakura remembered what she'd painstakingly written in that letter to her beautiful little girl—the words she hoped she'd read one day and see how much she was loved even when her mother was never there.

_ It's on the list of things I wanted to see if I didn't die, right under watching you grow up into something you yourself are proud of. _

_ Whatever you decide to become or whoever you decide to be, I'll always stand behind you. If you have a dream, chase it. If you have a goal, succeed. _

_ Don't let anyone tell you any different no matter who it is. Make your life the way you want it. _

_ But there is only one thing I sorely ask you to be. _

_ Happy. _

Was she happy the past five years she came back? She could've said yes. She saw all her friends again, was able to change their lives, give them what she never could before, and strike up one of the deepest friendships she ever had with a man she once called her sworn enemy. But in those five years...

_ "I want you to watch, Sakura-chan. For forty hours, I want you to look at your memories. And I want you to see how no one in your life really needed you." _

_ ~ _

_ "Half a pill every other night. Do  _ not _ take them every day and do  _ not _ take more than half a pill. Alright?" _

_ It was a few long moments of his dead serious look piercing through her soul before she nonchalantly pocketed the bottle and waved him off. _

_ "I'm a medic, Sasori-san. No need to tell me twice." _

_ She would never admit to him there were times she almost didn't follow his orders. _

_ ~ _

_ Sakura woke up. _

_ Her room was dark, illuminated only by the moonlight that poured through her window. Her clothes, a simple ensemble of a loose tank top and spandex shorts, we're completely soaked through with her sweat. Red lines were littered all over her neck as a result of the unconscious and relentless scratching she had done in her sleep. _

_ ~ _

_ "I... I can never make it u-up to her now. Now... Now I'll never see her again, and I-I'll never get the chance to tell how I-I'm so sorry..." _

She wasn't.

She sobbed a little harder as she threw her arms around Kakashi and buried her face into his neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll be better. I'll get better," she promised. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close-- for some peace. For the both of them.

How many years had passed since both of them were able to reach towards that grain called closure?

The skies outside had clouded over completely in a light gray as specs of rain fell and dotted the world with nothing more than a thin drizzle. Sakura sniffed a few more times and swiped at her eyes.

"Damn," she cursed. She let her arms fall back to her sides as she sat back against the couch, Kakashi pushing himself onto his feet.

"What it it?"

"I still have all those errands to do. I didn't even get the first one done!" she whined. He rolled his eyes and motioned for her to follow him to the door.

"With your incompetence, I suppose I could lend a hand. You won't be able to finish before nighttime without it," he said. She gave him a cheeky grin. Right before they left, Kakashi reached for the saffron yellow umbrella he kept by the entrance and held it over the both of them as they stepped out the door.

"Asshole," she quipped. The corner of his lips quirked up the slightest bit as they strode into the rain.

"Tyrant."

::

**EDITED 2.11.18**


	54. Interlude

**_A/N : So, school's starting and I'll let you guys know this straight up. I'll try to keep up my weekly updates as consistent as possible, but I'm not promising anything. Things might come late especially since I'm in a sport for the fall season (August to October)._ **

**_Also, I've already outlined the rest of this story._ **

**_If everything goes according to plan.._**.

**_There will 14 chapters left after this one, or something along the lines of that._ **

::

"So... Sachiko was that man's daughter? How did you meet her?"

"After, you know,  _ that  _ happened and I killed him, I tried to look for help and I found her. She was waiting for her dad to come home and when I told her he wouldn't be back, I promised her... I promised her that I'd take care of her. But I didn't."

"It's not your fault. She wasn't your responsibility."

"She was. I broke a promise, Kakashi."

"Everyone breaks promises sometimes. One day, she'll understand."

...

"I hope she does."

::

Naruto leaned forward, laying a scrutinizing eye on his sensei for a good few seconds. "So you said you're sorry, right?"

"Yes."

"And she accepted it 100% no joke, right?"

"Yes."

The boy considered the answer. When Sakura showed up for team practice the day after Kakashi started acting weird, he was so excited that he dropped the weapons he was working with to jump into his best friend's arms. She, of course, caught him and held him bridal style as he babbled on about how much he missed her. Sasuke came at a much more casual stride and shoved Naruto's face aside to ask how her mission was and if she was okay.

Kakashi's eye twitched when Naruto crossed his arms and huffed. "I don't believe you."

"I will make you run two hundred laps around the village," he said. The boy's expression suddenly morphed into one of saccharine exuberance—fear dancing at the back of his gaze—and scurried back to where his friends stood.

"It's so awe-awesome that you guys made up, dattebayo!" Naruto stammered. He quickly tried to divert the conversation elsewhere. "So do we have a mission? Huh, sensei? That's why we haven't started training yet, right?!"

Kakashi extended a scroll that Sasuke took, the latter throwing the man a look that too was wary about the sudden disintegration of Sakura's suspension, and it was opened for the three genin to read. "We have been on a mission to run errands for the owner of-"

"Oh! This is gonna be easy!" Naruto exclaimed. He didn't notice the miffed glare aimed in his direction for the interruption. "We just gotta do stuff for Mari-san!"

"At Magenta? Why didn't he just ask us to do it for him when we were finished with training?" Sasuke asked.

"Guess he had the funds to spare," Sakura hummed. "It says we have to be there in... fifteen minutes? If we run now, we can make it through our normal way instead of using the main road."

The three of them nodded in unison and closed the scroll. Kakashi watched, silently intrigued, as Naruto took the sleeve of his uniform and began to drag him across the red bridge alongside the other two.

"C'mon! If you don't follow us, you might get lost."

Doubtful, but he followed quietly.

The only reason Kakashi was able to mask his surprise was because of the years he spent as a shinobi, but one of his eyebrows threatened to raise in incredulity when the three brats led him to the entrance of the Akasen. It was hardly busy seeing at it was still morning and the district really only came to life when the sun started to set.

He did read the mission scroll and had the words burned in his mind despite it only being a simple D-rank, but he'd never heard of Magenta or of a person named Mari. He assumed it was somewhere in the civilian district and they needed help with something simple, but here? Why would his team be familiar with a place like this?

Suddenly, they made a hard left and dashed into the nearest alleyway that spanned into various directions, fenced off areas, trash and boxes, and a humid feeling the jounin didn't necessarily appreciate. It was only a few more minutes through Naruto's babbling, Sakura's light responses, and Sasuke's occasional input that they reached a pink building with a currently turned off sign with the name  _ Magenta  _ flowing in smooth cursive.

A transvestite bar.

The Hokage had sent ten year olds on a mission to an  _ adult lounge _ .

Kakashi kept a critical eye on the establishment as they pushed their way through the rotating doors. "Now," he began. "I—”

"MARI-SAN!" Naruto shouted. The jounin twitched at the second loud and completely unnecessary interruption of the hour. "WE GOT A MISSION TO HELP YOU DO STUFF!"

Sasuke cuffed the back of his head. "Idiot! The whole district heard you!"

"Shut up, stuffy! I wasn't even that loud!"

"My ears are ringing, Naruto."

"Eheh... really, Sakura-chan? Guess I'm just talented, 'ttebayo!"

A blonde man that stood at just about six feet emerged from somewhere behind the bar, wiping his hands on a blue rag and toying with a lit cigarette that hung from the corner of his mouth. His eyes rounded in surprise as he caught Naruto in a hug and greeted the other two by heartily messing up their hair. "So you're the team I got, eh? I can deal. This your sensei?"

Kakashi stepped up and offered his hand. "Hatake Kakashi."

"Mari. Naru-chan's told me 'bout you. Says you're a real stiff," Magenta's owner nodded. Naruto's squawk of betrayal echoed off the sultry interior of the building. "Sasuke-chan's a lil' nicer, but thinks you could take a couple a' shots. And Sakura-chan jus' says she's never met an asshole as big as you. But you ain't that bad- the kids like ya' enough."

It took Kakashi a few moments to digest the insults blatantly slapped in his face.

But only a split second to decide he was going to drown his entire team in the river after they finished the mission.

Sakura popped up from behind Mari. "What's with that expression, Kakashi? You make it look like what we said about you was wrong. Your training regime was enough proof to show that you are, in fact, a major asshole," she said. She laughed at the promise of death written on his face and moved back next to Sasuke when Mari grinned and turned his attention to the three.

"Right, this's how its gonna be. The place's closed t'day 'cause of a fight last night. I've also given ev'ryone else time off ta' cool down, so—I need dishes clean, glasses polished, tables wiped, window's shinin', floors mopped. I got the heavy liftin' covered out front, but someone's gotta take trash duty."

Both Naruto and Sakura touched their noses with their finger. "Not it!" they chorused. Sasuke did a double-take before he scowled.

"I always get trash duty," he muttered. Sakura patted his shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better, we can all get onigiri after this. You can even have yours with okaka and tomato like always," she said. He grumbled and put out his bottom lip in a sulky pout as he made his way to the back. Naruto grinned.

"I'll get the dishes!" he exclaimed. "What about you, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm... probably the glasses. You know, because some people break them because they're not careful even when I've already told them," she said. Sasuke's snap could be heard from the back.

"Naruto shattered the first one!"

As the other two dispersed to fulfill their duties with surprisingly no complaints, Kakashi raised his eyes to the lax man who watched them go with a parental fondness.

"You said there was heavy lifting to be done out front? Do you need help with that?" he asked. Mari rolled his shoulders and switched the part of his mouth where his cigarette lay.

"Got some broken tables an' chairs, s'well 's some booze and deliv'ries that need ta' be stocked. I'd 'ppreciate the extra hand."

The jounin followed the taller man out the entrance and to the items that needed to be moved about or brought inside. Kakashi took one of the smashed tables handed to him, guiltily thinking that even when he found out more about Sakura, he was still clueless about her, Naruto, and Sasuke as a whole.

"Recyclin's down the street," Mari said as he hefted up a few splintered seats. "Won't take a minute ta' get there an' back."

Those three were too familiar with Magenta to only be passersby, and the owner was obviously someone important to them.

"Excuse me, Mari-san."

Violet eyes slid to him. "Hm?"

"How... is it you know my team so well?"

The Akasen didn't look half bad in the day time, save for the couple of bodies drunk from the night before. Most of the places were closed, but some people were sweeping the front of their establishments and raising a hand in greeting at the two of them as they passed.

Magenta's owner plucked his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke.

"Ah, none of 'em told you? I live with Naru-chan and 'ruka, and kinda like Naru-chan's step-dad."

What?

...

_ Oh. _

He heard about Iruka adopting Naruto not too long ago, but he never heard about the other— _ interestingly careered  _ father figure in the boy's life.

Mari glanced at the other and his muted realization, his lips quirked up in a knowing smile. "Didn't expect that, huh? No one does. 'Specially 'bout me and 'ruka. You know, how a good guy like him would end up with someone who dresses up at night en'ertainin' other men for a livin'," he said. Kakashi impulsively shifted the broken furniture in his arms and raised a denying hand to that statement.

"No, I didn't think—"

He cut himself off with a wince. Yeah. He kind of did.

Mari chuckled and shook his head. "Don' worry too much. Ev'ryone's got the same reaction, I don' mind. All I care 'bout 's 'im and Naru-chan. As long as they're happy, I am."

They dumped the wood scraps in the recycling bin and dusted off their hands before heading back to the bar. Well, there was nothing bad to say about that. Naruto always looked happy and loved his friends to death, and at least he had a family to go home to when they weren't around.

"But... it wasn't always like this. I met 'ruka a couple a' years back, but I've known Naru-chan since he was four or five. When he was kicked outta the orph'nage and none other social serv'ces would pick 'im up," Mari informed quietly, his mood subduing. "Found 'im in the alley by the bar—cryin', bleedin', hungry. Thought I was gonna beat 'im up and started cryin' some more."

A lump formed in Kakashi's throat. Of course, how could he forget something like that? Naruto was practically the most hated person in the village because of the fox inside him. An innocent boy.  _ His sensei's son _ . And he was too selfish and close-minded to do a damn thing about it.

"I knew who he was. Who didn't? I could see how the people would look at 'im as they passed. So I jus' brought 'im to the back patched 'im up a bit, gave 'im somethin' ta' eat, and told 'im he could stay in the break room. He was gone by late mornin'." 

The two of them finally returned to Magenta's front, but Mari moved down the side of the building and motioned for Kakashi to follow. The back of the bar didn't look like much, but there was a steel staircase that wrapped around and led to the third floor. At the top was a room that looked somewhat livable. 

"It took some time, but Naru-chan learned I wasn't gonna hurt 'im and he came by a lot," he continued. "When I found he had no place to go, I let 'im stay 'ere for free. Well, not really. I had 'im run errands for me a couple days a week, but he was fine ta' stay in the bar 'til it opened and me and the guys made sure he had food ta' eat."

That guilty feeling came back and wrapped around Kakashi like a poisoned coil. A little boy had no business to be in a place like this. And since he was five years old? The orphanage who kicked him out should be punished for shoving him onto the streets like that. But Kakashi knew he had no right.

He wasn't any better.

"He wasn't beaten up too much after that, but some bastards found where he lived and vand'lized the damn place one day. But I took care a' those idiots real quick," Mari said as he cracked his knuckles. "Pretty soon, he met Sakura-chan, then Sasuke-chan. They're good to 'im, help around sometimes, so I didn’t have to worry much 'bout 'im anymore. Then 'ruka came and the rest's history." He blew out three perfect circles of smoke before turning to face the other man. "Sensei, you'll take care a' 'im, won't ya?"

Kakashi felt a new resolve build up within him.

Sure, he wasn't any better.

"Of course," he answered, cool and aloof like he always was. The blonde man smiled and walked back down the alley towards the front to finish cleaning up.

"Good. 'Cause I woulda clocked ya' if ya' said otherwise."

Kakashi stared up at the small, empty apartment for a little while longer before following after.

_ But he was going to  _ be  _ better. _

::

Normally, missions like these didn't take too long to do. Team Kakashi would finish up at quickly as possible to get the job done over with because of how mundane or irritating the work was. But at Magenta, they all took their time in completing their chores--laughing, joking around, and casually speaking with Mari. He even treated them to onigiri (to which Sasuke would never admit he was ecstatic about).

And normally, if they took too long, Kakashi would do something to make them complete the mission faster or threaten them with more training if they didn't pick up the pace. But this time, something was different. he let them have all their fun as he sat at the bar with his book open and a plate of half eaten onigiri beside him.

Naruto openly gaped at his teacher's sudden change in attitude.

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei," he said. He hopped on the stool to the man's right. Sasuke and Sakura were somewhere in the storage room debating produce placement, and Mari had gone to get some things in the supply room. "You're not mean today. Well, you were this morning, but you're not telling us to do stuff now and you're not giving us a speech 'bout how shinobi should do missions efficiently!"

Kakashi was surprised that he'd actually listened to those. "Do you want me to give you a speech?"

"Er, no... but, I like it better when you're like this. Then I don't have to be scared of you anymore," Naruto grinned.

Huh.

He really must've been a dickhead this whole time.

Kakashi looked back to his book and flipped a page.

"Hm. I'll keep that in mind," he hummed. As the boy spun around in his seat and made to slide off, a fingerless-gloved hand reached over and gave a single pat to the head of golden hair. Naruto gazed up at his sensei—the sensei who'd shown no remorse on the training grounds, who never showed any indication of liking them, who suspended Sakura-chan—with shock. The only people who'd pat him like that was old man Hokage and Iruka.

That shock was soon replaced with something starry, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

Naruto jumped off the seat and threw himself to the lounge kitchen. "SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE!" he yelled. "KAKASHI-SENSEI'S A TSUNDERE! A JERK WITH A HEART OF GOLD! HE REALLY DOES LOVE US, DATTEBAYO!!"

Kakashi stalked after Naruto to completely deny that accusation where he found Sakura clutching her stomach and laughing until tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. Sasuke looked absolutely appalled at the notion and was physically repelled at the thought of his sensei being anything other than a torturous asshole.

The jounin let loose some of his killing intent and promised their deaths by making them avoid projectiles being launched at them while being neck-deep in water, merely causing Sasuke to argue that Kakashi could never be that nice and Sakura only laughed harder.

He hated them. He hated them so much.

It was around six in the evening when they finished the mission, and Mari thought it would be best if they all got out of the Akasen before most of the district's population started flooding in.

"It was nice to meet you, Mari-san," Kakashi bid as he and his team were about to leave. Mari took the extended hand and blew aside a cloud of smoke, a small twinkle in his eye.

"Come back anytime, Tsundere-sensei."

::

Being the kind and generous sensei he was, he decided to walk his genin home despite their horrible misreading of his personality. Naruto's house was the closest, Sasuke's was the farthest being at the very outskirts of Konoha, and Sakura... he wasn't too sure where she lived. He must've skimmed over her address while reading her file.

"Ne, since it's our off day tomorrow, wanna go for team breakfast?" Naruto asked as he bounced alongside his friends.

"I don't mind," Sasuke replied with a shrug. Sakura cocked her head and squinted at the sky.

"We can do it at my place. We just got groceries yesterday and no one'll be home, so you guys can stay as long as you want. Here, let me just write down the address so you don't get lost," she said. Kakashi noticed Sasuke flinch at the word 'home' and felt a bit curious as the boy raised his hand and tugged on Sakura's sleeve.

"Hey... can I stay over again?" he murmured. She eyed him with concern and slung an arm over his shoulders.

"Sure."

Naruto appeared worried as well, but pursed his lips and said nothing.

"Sasuke, is there something going on that I should be informed of?" Kakashi questioned. The Uchiha quickly shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"No, not really."

Kakashi met Sakura's gaze and she signed to him in standard chuunin code.

_ Not my story to tell. Sorry. _

Ah. Family troubles, probably. Sakura easily diverted the uneasy mood by turning to walk backwards while facing her sensei. "So, Kakashi, this is a team breakfast. That means you're coming too, right?"

"Yeah, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "It'll be super cool, I promise. Remember when we made you dinner that one time? This breakfast is gonna be even better than that!"

He told him he would think about it, and that they shouldn't count on him dropping by. But Sakura gave him the paper with her address anyways, telling him to be there by nine if he wanted omelettes, bacon, sausages, and strawberries upon strawberries upon strawberries on fried toast. Or he could come even earlier than that and help with making breakfast.

::

He really shouldn't have been surprised that after dropping off the kids and taking to his own apartment, he woke up, stared at the address in his hands, and left his apartment a little before eight.  

His team deserved that much, didn't they? For him to finally be there as a mentor and help them be brought up to the greatness he was sure was inside each and every one of them that the world needed to see. For Naruto, he would finally get the love and recognition he deserved from the people. For Sakura, she would finally let go of everything that broke her down over the years and use the pieces to build herself up again. For Sasuke-- he didn't quite know yet. But he'd find out soon. He could feel it.

"H-Hey! Kakashi! Wait up!"

Obito jogged up to his friend's side and placed a hand on his shoulder for support as he caught his breath. It had been a while since the two had seen each other with Kakashi wrapped up with his teaching duties and Obito with his own fair share of missions and clan obligations.

"Hm?"

The Uchiha looked up, worriedly, as his voice took up a slightly desperate tone.

"You saw Sasuke yesterday? He showed up for training or something?" he asked. When Kakashi nodded, Obito took another step forward. "Then you know where he is, right?! He hasn't been home for the past few days and we're all getting really worried. Like, we thought it was okay for him to be away for a little bit to let off some steam after what happened a few days ago, but he hasn't talked to anyone and no one's seen him so do you know where he is now?!"

Kakashi made a split second decision and slowly shook his head. "No... we had a D-rank and parted ways immediately after. I don't know where he went," he lied, "but he was acting off near the end of the day. What happened?"

Obito's eyebrows furrowed in indecisiveness, but it was only a matter of time before he caved and spilled everything.

_ Obito, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, and two of their other cousins had gone to a nearby store to stock up on bandages, new shinobi sandals, and weapon polish. The cousins, Obito, and Shisui were happy to not let any silence reign over them as they talked about this and that, occasionally 'appreciating' women that passed them. _

_ "Nine out of ten," a cousin with brown hair muttered as a young woman strutted passed their group. _

_ "What? She's more of a six," the dark grey-haired one scoffed. "Look at her. She's probably a bitch under all that makeup and fake nails." _

_ Obito saw Sasuke twitch in irritation, but the boy kept silent as he trailed behind his brother with his arms crossed firmly across his chest. Ever since the incident with one of the boy's eyes awakening the Mangekyou, they'd kept an even closer watch on him to make sure nothing would trigger his other eye to form, or for him to even use the eye he already had. _

_ Anger was a common cause to unleash its power and it seemed like his cousins weren't helping the situation one bit. _

_ Soon enough, their attention moved to another person across the street. At first, they thought she was another one of the many young women that populated Konoha, but their smug smiles turned into disgusted scowls when they realized it wasn't even a woman at all, but a man wearing a deep purple dress with long brown hair tied up in a messy bun. _

_ "Ugh, who does he think he's fooling? That's just... wrong." _

_ "Can't believe he doesn't know what an embarrassment he's making of himself." _

_ Obito watched the person across the street flinch and thumb the sleeve of their dress, obviously hearing his cousins' hurtful words, and suppressed a cringe. His family didn't have to be so callous and insensitive all the time, a little respect could— _

_ Sasuke broke away from the group and strode across the street to where the person was standing. Itachi tensed immediately and Shisui made a move to grab his younger cousin's shoulders, but he was too late and the rest of the Uchiha watched his next move. _

_ "Pardon me," he called. The stranger turned, their hand held close to their chest as they warily observed the boy. _

_ "Y-Yes?" they stammered, bracing themselves for another insult or sneer at their appearance. _

_ "You look really nice in that dress," Sasuke told them honestly. "It doesn't matter what anyone says. I think you should keep wearing them." _

_ Obito's jaw dropped, and he was sure everyone else's expression wasn't far behind. The stranger was startled for a moment before a small, genuine smile crossed their face. _

_ "Thank you, you're very sweet," they said. Sasuke bid them to have a good rest of the day and walked back to his family. He was clearly unrepentant and had a look on his face that challenged any one of them to tell him what he'd done was wrong. His brown-haired cousin was quick to regain his bearings and take him up on it. _

_ "What did you do that for?!" _

_ "I thought they looked nice. So I told them they looked nice," Sasuke said. "Something wrong with being decent?" _

_ Itachi's eyes widened, and their grey-haired cousin scowled. "Decent? That was a faggot who should be ashamed of himself, he doesn't need decency." _

_ A fist smashed into the cousin's face, the assaulter's left eye spinning with two tomoe and his right flashing with a six-pointed pinwheel. _

_ "Otouto!" _

_ "Even if you're shallow and close-minded it doesn't mean you should ridicule people just because they're different from you!" Sasuke snarled. "And being a complete jackass from a noble clan isn't an excuse for it!" _

"... then he just ran off before we could say anything to him. Mikoto-baa and Fugaku-sama are worried and... it just wasn't like him to do something like that, you know? I mean, I'm not against what he did or anything and I thought it was good on him, but... are you sure you haven't seen him?"

Kakashi shook his head again. "Sorry."

Obito scratched his head and sighed. "Alright. Anyway, if you see him, tell him we want him to come home, okay? Thanks. I'll see you around!"

Kakashi continued on his way as his friend left to keep looking for his cousin. He supposed he could credit Sasuke's actions to Sakura's and Naruto's influence over the years they've known each other. What he never imagined was that influence to reach so deep into an  _ Uchiha _ —one of the most straight-laced and traditional people right behind the Hyuuga—that he attacked a family member for the sake of a complete stranger.

Maybe it wasn't just his cousins' rudeness that set him off. He had too cool of a head for that. Perhaps something else was going on he had yet to discover...?

He re-checked the address in his hands and approached the one-story house inside one of the many shinobi residential districts and knocked.

The door opened a few seconds later.

"Holy shit! You really came, Kakashi!" the pink-haired tyrant exclaimed. She looked over her shoulder. "Oi, Sasuke! Guess who owes Naruto and I crepes!"

"He showed?!"

"Ha! And he's early too, 'ttebayo!"

"I told you he would!" she shouted. She fixed herself forward and smiled her typical, cheeky smile. "Come on, Kakashi. You can help make the omelettes."

The house looked as homey as he thought it would. There were plants on the window sills, the coffee table was cluttered with journals, papers, and ink, and there was a full bookcase against one of the walls. In the kitchen, Sasuke and Naruto sat at the island counter mixing together their omelettes.

"Hey, sensei! Tell Sasuke mushrooms are gross!"

"Your face is gross but you don't see me complaining about it, dobe."

Kakashi felt the corners of his mouth inch its way up, but he pressed his lips together and brought himself to the frame mounted on the wall parallel to the side of the counter. There wasn't even a picture inside, just a document- a poisons permit- signed by the Hokage.

The small label on the frame had the words _ 'NAG ME NOW' _ engraved in a bubbly font.

... No. He wasn't even going to ask about that.

"Kakashi, come over here and make the omelette you want. I even have eggplant," Sakura said, gesturing him over. "Hm, Naruto, you finished mixing yours? Want to start frying the bacon?"

"Yeah! But lemme pee first. The bathroom's... third door on the left?"

"Second. The third one's the old man's room and you definitely don't want to get caught in there," she replied. "And—ah, dammit. Hold on, guys, I have to get something from my room. Won't be a minute."

Luck must've been on Kakashi's side that bright morning, because both Naruto and Sakura disappeared down the hall and left him with the quieter but just as troubled student of his team. Sasuke silently mixed his omelette batter of tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach as the jounin started to speak.

"I ran into Obito on my way here."

The boy stopped mixing.

"He asked me where you were because you hadn't been home for the past few days after telling me about the small incident," Kakashi informed. Pitch black eyes slid over.

"Did you say where I've been?"

"I didn't feel the need to. It wasn't just what happened with your cousins, was it? Whatever the real reason, you should be able to work it out before returning to your family on your own volition. Next time, tell me if you're to do something like this. I need to make sure you're safe, too."

Sasuke frowned at that. "You never cared before," he said. Kakashi winced. "So why is it so important now? I didn't think anything about me-  _ us _ \- mattered to you except making sure we make it to chuunin so we didn't have to be your team anymore."

There was no fault in his words. When Kakashi first received the assignment, he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. Dan gave him genin to remove him from ANBU and try to improve his mental health, but he didn't believe in that. He never believed that he could ever help himself from everything he lived through.

But when Sakura had that panic attack that day, sobbing and screaming about how it was okay if she was the only one who hurt if that meant making everyone else happy, something in him clicked. These brats were never just brats.

These genin, these kids, had suffered. All of them. Naruto and the demon, Sakura and the past, Sasuke and the clan. But even through their suffering, they made an effort to come together and reach out to him. They made him smile and think and realize that there was more to the world than chasing ghosts and believing he could never make up for what he failed to do.

They were his second chance and he was too blind to realize that before. "You're right. I didn't care before, and I'm sorry."

Sasuke blinked in surprise.

"But," Kakashi continued. "I want to change that. You three deserve a teacher who cares and who makes sure you can be the best you are, and I'm going to try to be that person. It's the very least I can do to make up for what I didn't."

It was a few seconds before the boy grunted and started adding cheese to his batter. Naruto burst into the kitchen yelling about cooking bacon- yes he did declare he washed his hands because he knew at least Sasuke was doubting him- and started the stove. Sakura came in a couple minutes after that with an impressive stack of manila folders that she dropped onto the couch.

"There! So, can one of you get the glasses out?" she asked distractedly, hastily checking the papers in each folder. Kakashi, the normal shinobi he was, stood from his seat and approached the overhead cabinets because that was an obvious place to look for any dishware because really, what else could be there?

When he grasped the handle of the fourth cabinet from the right, she realized her mistake. "No wait!!"

Kakashi pulled open the cabinet.

And Naruto shrieked. "ARE THOSE  _ EYEBALLS _ ?!"

Kakashi didn't know if he should be surprised. Every single cabinet that wasn't attached to the island had questionable liquids, plants, live specimens (the spiders were a little disconcerting) and animal parts that he knew shouldn't be taken care of by a genin. Even after her sheepish explanation of her upcoming poison collection, mithridatism, and permit story, both Naruto and Sasuke sat her down and chastised her for doing such dangerous work without them knowing, so Kakashi felt that her spectrum of eccentricity had widened by a lot.

When they finally sat down to eat their breakfast, that spectrum only grew when the back door slid open and Shiranui Genma stepped through, senbon, lazy grin, and all.

"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Hatake. Mornin'," he greeted. "Aw, what's this? Decided to have breakfast without me?"

"Team breakfast. Emphasis on  _ team _ . But we do have extra batter if you want to make yourself an omelette," Sakura said. Genma slunk over to lean against her seat and pluck a strip of bacon from her plate.

"Nah, I'm just on a run. You got my paperwork?"

"On the couch."

"Thanks, kid. You're a real lifesaver."

He scooped up the folders and made his way out. Sakura cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. "You’re welcome!"

"Thank you!"

So she was already doing sensitive T&I work. Good to know. But at least in his team's distraction, he'd finished his food and slipped his mask back over his face like he hadn't moved it in the first place.

::

It was around ten when they parted ways. Naruto promised he'd help Chouji out with a few things, Sakura said she'd help out an artist friend of hers, and Sasuke... wasn't sure where he'd go for the rest of the day. It's not like he had any place he wanted to be, and Kakashi was sharp enough to see that.

"Sasuke, I'm going to check for future missions. You should come with me to see how the process goes so you'll know when you start going on solos."

He was taken aback at the invitation, but ended up shrugging his shoulders and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Okay."

Sasuke silently walked beside his teacher as they made their way to the missions office, just as Kakashi expected. Shinobi of the Uchiha clan typically had the same attitudes-- quiet most of the time and only speaking if they needed to. He'd worked with the boy's older brother, Itachi, a fair share of times to know what to expect.

"... You were right, you know."

Kakashi glanced down beside him.

"About me not being at the compound for the past few days," Sasuke clarified, shifting uncomfortably. "It wasn't just my cousins' fault. What they were doing was wrong, but I was already angry because I didn't like being at home anymore." He unconsciously reached up to feel around his right eye. "I...  _ they _ —"

"Otouto."

Sasuke froze at the familiar, silk voice that approached the two of them from behind. Itachi, with a face uncharacteristically etched in both relief and worry, stopped just a few feet away from the pair.

"Kakashi-senpai, can you please excuse us for a few moments? I would li—"

" _ Why _ ?" Sasuke seethed. Itachi flinched and Kakashi's eyes widened at the show of such animosity. "What, I'm too much of a taboo topic to talk about in front of people? Tell Kakashi-sensei what you're all doing and  _ why  _ you think I shouldn't be left alone."

The jounin's stare flickered between the two siblings warily. He'd never seen Sasuke so angry with either his friends or family, and witnessing the scene the two were making made him feel like an intruder.

"Please don't be unreasonable, otouto," the elder Uchiha tried. But he was cut off a second time.

"Unreasonable?! What's unreasonable is that I can't be in my own home without everyone tiptoeing around me like I'm going to explode at any second! Ever since I got that Mangekyou, you, tou-sama, kaa-san, Shisui, Obito— _ everyone  _ is treating me like I can't take care of myself anymore! You don't think I know why? I heard you! I heard all of you! You all think I'm going to fall into the Curse of Hatred just like Madara did and  _ none of you were going to tell me what I could grow up to be _ !"

Shame quickly powdered Itachi's face and he said nothing in return, only reinforcing the words that hammered straight through his heart.

Kakashi stepped in before things could get even worse. 

"I know very well I am in no position to make suggestions, but perhaps some more distance could help rectify your... disagreement," he said. "I was planning to inform all legal guardians of this team's status when training resumed tomorrow, but you can take this back to Fugaku-sama." He cleared his throat. "I have nominated Team Seven to participate in this year's Chuunin Exams. Their training for the next two weeks will be review of what has been taught that they will be heavily focused on, and we will leave for Iwagakure at the end of those two weeks. Maybe then you could talk about your matters, but until then, Sasuke can stay with me so conflict can be avoided for the time being."

Itachi's eyebrows furrowed. Sasuke stared at his teacher in sheer bewilderment. Kakashi stayed as impassive as ever.

"Senpai..." Itachi took a deep breath. "... I understand. I will inform tou-sama of the situation."

He took one last look at his beloved little brother—who refused to meet his gaze—before flickering away, hurt undulating in his eyes. Kakashi gently grasped his student's shoulder and led him back down the road. It certainly wasn't in his plans to let Sasuke stay over at his apartment until they left for Iwa, but after hearing the real reason why the boy didn't want to go home, it shocked him into action.

Madara was a disaster. Being even remotely compared to a person like that, especially if a child was on the receiving end of the comparison, was damaging to the psyche.

Sasuke was one of the last people to have that weighing him down. 

"... Thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi hummed. "It's no issue."

And, strangely, he found it really wasn't.

::

Sakura leaned against the side of the Hokage building, scanning through the recommendation letter in her hands. The Chuunin Exam nominations she was expecting, and it was a convenient time to finally meet with Deidara and deliver his brand new double kodachi. She'd probably pass and rank up no problem, but that wasn't her main concern. 

Iwa wasn't exactly on the friendliest terms with Konoha and they were home to the shinobi who earned Kakashi's scorn for life.

Maybe she had to ask Sasori for back up on this one too. Just in case.

She folded the letter and tucked it away in her pocket when a shadow extended in front of her. She was unperturbed.

"Councilman," Sakura greeted blandly. "To what do I owe you this visit?"

Danzo observed her for a moment. "You speak to me so carelessly like I've done you no wrong," he said. "But you know what I've done, don't you, child? I expected a certain hatred about you or a burning need for revenge. Would you elaborate?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh? Then make me make it clearer." He set both hands atop his cane and leaned forward, carefully blank and carefully sinister. "Why do you not wish to kill me even when I'm the reason there is only  _ one  _ Haruno instead of  _ three _ ?"

::

**EDITED 2.12.18**


	55. The Number of Death

**_A/N: Please remember that I can't update as frequently as I used to. This is my senior year in high school and I'm aiming to graduate with the highest marks I can manage._ **

::

_ He set both hands atop his cane and leaned forward. "Why do you not wish to kill me even when I'm the reason there is only  _ one  _ Haruno instead of  _ three _?" _

::

Iwagakure was dry and rocky and full of bamboo.

And honestly, with a heat level that rivaled Suna's even when starting to gain speed towards the end of the year, that was the only reason Sakura tried to avoid the mountainous country as much as she could. In the other timeline, she talked to enough of their people to know the climate wasn't the only difference compared to Konoha.

Shinobi here were rougher around the edges—took less mercy and ranked up as high as they could as young as they got. They also tended to be more outspoken and blunt, more than likely a side-effect of their quick, effective training. Sometimes they even went as far as to appear disconcerting.

Like now, for example.

Sakura, sandwiched between Naruto and Sasuke, could see the challenging grins and sparks of interest aimed at them right from the moment they stepped into the village. The Chuunin Exams was a time for every village to gather and compete despite dissimilarity and disagreements, and was also the perfect moment to size up other country's forces to see what they could be up against in the future.

"These people don't look very friendly, dattebayo," Naruto whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"Competing or not, we're still foreigners," Sakura muttered. "It's only natural when they have a surge of people from all over the world in one place. A small thing goes wrong and they'll be on us faster than Shikamaru on a game of shogi."

Sasuke grunted and shifted his bag against his back, thinking that it probably wasn't a good idea to pack shirts that had his clan symbol on them.

"Meaning that the three of you will be on your best behavior. I don't want you more than one block away from where I am and you'll adhere to the eight o'clock curfew I'm setting up," Kakashi said. He and the other two boys turned to give Sakura quiet, accusing stares to which she responded by placing a hand over her heart in mock hurt.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"My rules apply to you more than anyone."

She sighed dramatically. "Ah, but you see, Kakashi, I've already made some plans that don't exactly fit well with your 'rules'. You know, people to see, places to visit. I'd actually like to get to some of it now if you guys don't mind."

Sasuke gave her a stern look. "This village isn't like Wave and is filled with shinobi that could hurt you if they wanted to. Are you sure you can handle this by yourself?" 

"Yep," she replied. He observed her for a few seconds before looking up at his teacher.

"I believe her," Sasuke said. Kakashi rubbed his eyes in exasperation. Of course. Why would he be so stupid as to think he could actually tell Sakura what to do and get the boys to back him up on it at least once?

"Fine," he exhaled. "Sakura, you can go off and do whatever you're making excuses for. But I want you back at the hotel by eight or else you're not allowed to go on another venture, understood?"

She was already handing her pack over to Naruto and asking the boys if they wanted anything and completely ignoring what her teacher had to say. She made a note to get Naruto the best ramen Iwa had to offer so he could compare it to the incomparable Ichiraku's and to get something ridiculously bitter to satisfy Sasuke's tastes.

" _ Sakura _ ," Kakashi repeated. She waved a careless hand.

"I heard, I heard. Make it by curfew or you'll kick my ass, I got it," she said. She saluted them and gave a wide grin. "Later."

She disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi stared at the spot she once was for a few moments before crossing his arms. "You three only enforce the reason why I hate children."

::

_ Sakura leveled him with a bored stare. "I know it wasn't you." _

::

Deidara found nothing appealing about helping out with the Chuunin Exams. He was thirteen and a newly minted jounin and he expected to be sent out on more and more missions through the Explosion Corps, not filling out paperwork and sorting through all the competitors and taking note of the ones Iwa should keep an eye on.

Eighty-seven teams from thirteen countries. Two hundred and sixty-one competitors.

Like  _ hell  _ he was going to be able to pick out the ones that were definitely going to be granted an ascension of status.

"Excuse me? Shinobi with the blonde hair in a half ponytail?"

Deidara, surprised at being called at, turned around in the midst of flipping through his documents. A little girl smiled up at him, short-cut hair neat and pink with her foreign hitai-ate shining in the low sun.

"Konoha-nin," he returned. "Need me to give you directions to something, un?"

"Actually, I need to talk to you. Think you can spare me a while?" she questioned. He frowned. He'd never seen her before and he was kind of busy with his part in the exams, so he waved his hand and spun back around.

"Sorry, hm. Don't really have the time—ask someone else?"

He began to walk away, but was stopped again by her placid words.

"Deidara: jounin. Member of the Explosion Corps and former student to the current Tsuchikage and retains the  _ Bokuton  _ kekkei genkai," she said. His eyes shot to hers. "You and I share a mutual...  _ ally _ , and it would probably be in your best interest to meet with me for a few moments. I promise it won't be long."

She definitely wasn't any older than he was and probably came to Iwa as a participant in the exams. Which was interesting in itself because he knew Konoha was too soft-hearted to send such a young candidate to a country that was practically the enemy when not in a time of war.

"... Alright, un. But only for a little bit," he allowed. Deidara followed her down the street, wondering if that ally was exactly who he thought it was.

::

_ "Oh?" Danzo mused. "And what makes you so sure of your claim? It's not something I expected from you." _

_ Sakura glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear. "Don't take me for someone who doesn't know what you're doing." _

::

Kisame had been sent on a solo mission when he stumbled upon the biggest tree he'd ever seen. It made him curious as to why something so strange and out of place could be stuck in what was basically in the middle of nowhere.

A crudely made opening marked the northern base of the tree, large enough for an average person to slip through but looked unlike anything a human could make. He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he squeezed through the opening and gazed at the hollowed out inside.

Torches.

Scattered papers.

Writings all over the walls filled with questions— **_who is here? Who will come? Has nothing changed? What can I change?_ **

Names— **_Gaara. Yugito. Yagura. Roshi. Han. Orochimaru. Utakata. Fu. B. Kushina. Minato. Madara. Obito. Itachi. Deidara. Kakuzu. Sasori. Hidan. Konan. Yahiko._ **

There were more. There were so much more.  _ His own _ being one of the many on there as well.

Theories also littered the space in nearly unintelligible scrawl, frantic and accusing... theories on the nature of time travel and what one could do to try and change the past...?

Uneasiness churned in the pit of his stomach and he took a cautious step back. Kisame twitched as his hand slowly made its way to Samehada's hilt.

_ 'I'm not supposed to be here.' _

He felt a shimmer of chakra sway through the tree and rustle the papers on the ground.

Kisame silently ducked out, retreating as fast as he could to put as much distance between him and that tree as possible. Time travel... the only people who were crazy enough to bring up that topic were Sasori and that girl, Sakura.

Did they know about it? Were they a part of whatever that was?

With a head filled with nothing but unsettling thoughts, he failed to notice the pair of eyes that followed him and the whispered words that trailed after.

"No, no, no... this will  _ not  _ do."

::

_ "And what am I doing, Haruno?" _

_ "You're making yourself out to be public enemy number one," she said. "Anything that happens with no explanation, you take the fall. ROOT takes the fall. People start to hate you for what they think you did without realizing you're doing the dirty work to fix the problems no one else can. If you're taking the blame for what killed my parents, it means it wasn't an accident and you have no clue about what happened that day, do you?" _

_ When he said nothing, her eyes iced over. _

_ "Tell me I'm wrong or tell me otherwise, councilman." _

::

"For you," Sakura said. The two of them stood by one of the village's many rock formations where the population trickled by the singles or none at all. She held out the double kodachi she kept hidden in her storage scroll. "I had the request put in a little while ago from our mutual ally. He thought it would be good if you learned how to use it."

Deidara eyed the weapon distrustfully. "And this ally, un?"

The girl shrugged. "Red hair. Weird. Sassy. Complete ass. You know who I'm getting at?"

Right out of the blue, he watched in complete surprise as an acorn sailed out from nowhere and hit the girl straight to the side of the head. She pressed her lips together in irritation before she offered Deidara a smile.

"See what I mean? Acorns don't even grow here but he decides to carry them around because he's old and filled with denial."

Another acorn hit her, this time on her forehead.

"... Seems like him. And he won't show himself, hm?"

"Can't," she grumbled, glaring at something (someone) in the distance as she rubbed her head. "Chuunin Exams, remember? He's pretty high up in the books and you've got countries here that would have his head if they ever saw him. So take the swords, yeah? A friend got them specially made."

Deidara slowly took it from her grasp, still skeptical of the whole situation, tucked the documents under his arm, and removed one of the blades from its scabbard. His eyes widened in recognition at the steel it was crafted from and the small engraved swordfish near the hilt: the well-known mark of the most renowned blacksmith in all the nations.

"You—this is Oshiro Suzu's work!" he exclaimed. "How did you get your hands on this, un?! She never makes weapons for just  _ anyone _ !"

The girl shrugged again. "Friends are valuable in more ways than one. Just put it to good use and we'll be fine. That's all I came here for, so if you'll excuse me..."

She turned around and began her trek down the street. Before he could lose sight of her, he called out-

"Who the hell are you, un?"

She threw a smile over her shoulder. "Just like you said, a Konoha-nin. See you, Deidara-san!"

As she disappeared, Deidara tucked his new weapon into a loop of his pants and quickly flipped through his documents, scanning for pink. He found her in a team consisting of a blonde boy and an Uchiha her age, their sensei being none other than the infamous Hatake Kakashi.

Her name was Haruno Sakura.

And he marked her as someone he knew would be promoted to Chuunin.

::

_ Danzo stayed quiet for a few more moments before speaking in something that was softer and nothing quite like him. _

_ "Close your eyes." _

_ She did, and the next second later, she felt a cold chill. _

_ She was back in ROOT Headquarters. _

::

Sakura congratulated herself for a job well done. Despite Sasori being a complete bastard by assaulting her with acorns from his hiding spot in the distance, Deidara had obtained something to help him with close-range battle and hopefully keep his mind away from leaving his village and becoming a terrorist that would have soon been recruited into the Akatsuki.

All she needed to do now was pass the exams to gain more freedom so she could hopefully—

"Haruno-san?"

She blinked and looked up, seeing a pair of smiling magenta eyes. "Hidan-san?"

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you here," he apologized. "But there's something I need to speak to you about. You and Sasori-san, in fact. I left Juugo to stay at a hotel while I'm here, a treat for both of us, really... anyways, if I could borrow your time? In private?"

"Oh, uh..."

Sakura glanced at the sky and saw the sun still shedding light. "... Sure. I've got the time. Where do you want to talk?"

Hidan waved a hand and guided her through Iwa, making twists and turns with a grace she didn't expect a young monk to possess before they ended up somewhere outside the village in the thicket of bamboo and boulders. Sasori appeared at her side, and the two of them peered curiously at the one who brought them here.

"So what did you need us for?" Sasori questioned. Suddenly, something in the air changed as Hidan's face grew into something older and piercing.

"I'm gonna cut the shit right here," he said. "Ten years ago, I was blown to fucking bits by a Nara bitch and left to fuck off and some goddamn fucking hole in who-knows-where-the-fucking-shit I was. Apparently, I died six months later and woke up in a new shit hole. But this time, it was silver and blue. Sound familiar?" 

Sakura's blood quickened in her veins, but he continued on anyways.

"Six months after that or however the fuck time works in the Void, I wake up and I'm eight. I know I'm supposed to be way fucking older, but guess what? I'm not and it turns out fucking time travel in a different world is actually a goddamn cunt because some things  _ aren't the same _ . I thought it'd just be the two of us, but then you assholes come and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura interrupted. "There's... There's more who came back? Four?! In total?!"

"Why else would everything be so fucking different? The whole world's been changed since before you two- since before  _ I _ came back! The fuck did you think this was?!"

Sasori stepped in. "Just—hold on, Hidan. Not that I'm not glad to see that you're your old self, because I'm really not—"

"Suck a dick, puppet fetish."

"—but, Sakura and I thought we were the only ones who came back because we met each other in the Void. I was in there for eighty years and being the first Akatsuki member that died, I definitely would've seen you. Did you die after the war?" he questioned. Hidan's lips turned down into a confused frown, eyes darting back and forth between the two other travelers that stood before him.

" _ War _ ? What war?"

"The Fourth Shinobi World War," Sakura informed quietly. The now-monk paled considerably at the title as she turned to address her friend. "Him and Kakuzu died a year before it started, eight years before my death. If he was in the Void, you would've met him before me."

Sasori rubbed his face with his hand. Well, the Void wasn't necessarily a concrete space and he was never able to find an end or beginning the years he spent wandering aimlessly. Time never really mattered there, and he supposed exactly when they all were sent back acted on pure chance, him being extremely lucky in having to wait for his killer to be returned to the living alongside him.

"The Fourth Shinobi... who the hell was strong enough to start that?"

"Tobi, who was actually an Uchiha in disguise. And Uchiha Madara. Kabuto. It was a whole mess, really, and the war lasted seven years. Thousands died," Sakura replied. Hidan scratched his head and muttered a few curses.

"That's... real fucking terrible. Maybe that's why that bastard wants to achieve peace so damn bad. Didn't sound too shitty until he went bat shit crazy. I split after he came back from Kiri a fucking basket case."

Sasori was silent for a few moments as he pieced together Sakura's mission from the Mizukage and his past and current experience with the Akatsuki. Once realization hit, his expression turned sickly as the identity of the fourth traveler slipped into his head.

Someone powerful had come back with them.

Someone powerful, who had lost his mind far worse than he had in the other timeline.

"Knowing you, it takes a lot for you to get overwhelmed. You were able to withstand the old Akatsuki and the things they made us do," he said. Sakura glanced at him. "What did  _ he  _ do for you to make the decision to leave?"

Hidan's jaw tightened. "Like I said, he lost his fucking marbles. Whoever he murdered fucked him over big time—if I stayed any longer, Nagato would've killed me too."

::

_ She followed Danzo through the empty hallways of the base until they were back into the cold, hollow room that was his office. She sat down in the chair nearly splintered to pieces from her last visit and he took a seat on the other side of the desk, lacing his fingers together and looking at her with something akin to wonderment. _

_ "I do apologize for taking the blame of having everyone in that building killed, but you were correct. It wasn't an accident, and we have reason to believe it was a carefully orchestrated terrorist attack where all the leads had led us to a dead end," he explained. Sakura's lips thinned into a hard line. _

_ "I understand, but why confront me and lie about this to my face?" _

_ He leaned back in his chair. "I had to test you." _

::

Kakashi's irritation slowly bled into worry when eight o'clock turned to nine, and nine to ten. Two hours from curfew had passed and Sakura still hadn't shown back up at the hotel. Naruto and Sasuke had already fallen asleep, assured with themselves that Sakura was safe wherever she was because she wouldn't do anything remotely stupid without good reason. That, and if she ever set her mind to something, she'd ignore them and do it anyways.

But he wasn't convinced about that. Something must've happened for her not to show up right on time just to humor him.

Another hour trickled by, and as the hour struck eleven, Sakura finally came up from down the road. He was about to chastise her on being three hours late and completely ignoring what he told her earlier—that is, until he saw the look on her face.

Her brows were pulled together in deep thought and she walked with a slump to her shoulders and a worried edge to her fingers tapping against her arm.

"Sakura," he called out. "You're three hours late."

She ignored him completely, eyes shifting from individual pebbles on the ground and nearly passing him. Kakashi's posture straightened in concern.

"Sakura," he repeated, a little louder. Finally, she gazed up at him and blinked rapidly like she was adjusting to a new light.

"Huh?" she mumbled. "Hey. What's up?"

"It's eleven o'clock," he replied evenly. She granted him an expression of surprise and disbelief before searching all around her and staring at the pitch black sky. Kakashi crossed his arms as she offered up a sheepish grin, but he could immediately tell that it wasn't as genuine as it should've been.

"Ah, sorry about that. Some... things came up and I lost track of time. And because I broke curfew, I won't be going off on my own anymore, so you don't have to worry about that either."

_ That  _ caught him off guard and set him on edge more than he'd like to admit. Sakura didn't just give in to his rules-- she lived to break them and laugh in his face when she did so. So something had happened and shaken her up so much that she returned to the hotel late and empty handed, completely forgetting about Naruto's ramen and Sasuke's bitter treat.

"Will you be alright for the Chuunin Exams?" he questioned. "If you're having second thoughts—"

"Whoa, no need to go that far, Kakashi. What happened wasn't jeopardizing," she said, holding up her hands in front of her. "I'm totally fine and we'll go through with the exams no sweat, I promise."

Sakura slipped passed him and into the building, knowing fully well that her teacher didn't believe a damn word she said.

::

_ "Test?" _

_ "You're far smarter than most take you for and you know about things that shouldn't even be considered by your generation. Hiruzen is the only one to know where I truly stand in Konoha, and if you don't believe me, you can ask him for confirmation. But before I can say anything on this matter, you must realize that anything and everything spoken here will not leave here." _

_ Sakura mulled it over. "Everything?" _

_ "Everything." _

_ "Then I want those words written and signed in your blood so I know you won't be lying to me again, councilman." _

::

Kakashi and the other jounin sensei were allowed to watch every inch of the exams pan out through cameras, as the first two parts of the test were taken in an enclosed space. All eighty-seven of them sat in an enormous room with high ceilings, one whole wall covered in screens that each focused on six candidates at a time.

The first was the written portion. The genin would be given two hours to complete a hundred question test and a combined score of forty-eight was required to pass, meaning that each team member would need to give at least sixteen correct answers to be allowed to the next section.

The purpose of the assessment was to test total team competency. A group was only as strong as its weakest link, and if one person couldn't adhere to the lowest chuunin standard requirement of intelligence, then they wouldn't be able to survive out on the field.

Kakashi wasn't particularly anxious over his team. From what he knew, Sasuke had this sort of information ingrained to him from being part of a noble clan and Naruto had been tutored by both Sasuke and Sakura since he met them. He was confident they would give nothing short of a notable performance.

Two and a half hours later, the screens switched to black and a list appeared in order of the team with the highest score to the team with the lowest. 

The team with second place had a score of seventy-one.

But incredulous murmurs shot through all the jounin as much of their attention went to well-known and well-feared Hatake Kakashi.

His team had a staggering score of one hundred and fifty-three: one candidate scoring a twenty-one, one scoring a thirty-two, and the last scoring a  _ perfect hundred _ .

One of the Iwagakure shinobi that lined the back of the room smirked.

He had a pretty good idea who that was.

::

_ Danzo spared no time in rolling out a blank scroll between the both of them and biting his thumb so that his blood seeped out enough for him to use as an ink. As he wrote the contract, his eye flickered up to her. _

_ "I do hope you realize that your knowledge must be kept away from Kato Dan as well, because even he doesn't know of my true nature," he said. After signing his name, he pushed the scroll closer to her so that she would do the same. _

_ Sakura nicked her thumb and pressed her bleeding finger against the paper. "I see no problem with that." _

::

The second part of the exams was something vaguely reminiscent of capture the flag that took place in an underground maze. One person in each team would wear five flags around their waist. Their goal would be to take three other flags from three different teams and have at least two of their own remaining.

The forty-four remaining teams would have one whole week to make it through attacks from the other teams, wild animals, and a few strategically placed genjutsu to reach the center of the labyrinth in the allotted time and be able to participate in the finals.

Kakashi noted in interest that Sakura was the one to wear the flags rather than the other two. For her, it meant the least mobility and the one to be protected. Sasuke and Naruto would have to work extra hard to fend off the other teams set to steal their flags.

But it was a smart tactic.

Sakura knew she was strong enough to carry the entire team by herself, but if she was the one who needed the most protection, she would allow her boys to be exposed to the true nature of the exam with the least of her interference as possible.

His team needed three days out of the seven to make it to the center and pass on to the third portion. 

The first two days went by with teamwork regarded as even more than exceptional. Sakura hung back and defended herself when necessary, but Naruto and Sasuke fought together with the grace of calm ocean waves.  They knew the other's styles and complemented what each lacked.

But if apart, their weaknesses could be played off on and used for the enemy's advantage. And Sakura, still was hiding her true potential from the rest of the competitors.

It was on the third day the Konoha genin encountered a fourth team whose flag they didn't need.

**The screen showed a brutal looking trio from Kumogakure, baring their teeth with mocking smiles as they immediately launched towards the ten year olds with a killing intent that the audience was sure had swallowed the corridor.**

**The other team's leader lunged towards Naruto and slashed a kunai against his midsection.**

**Kakashi shot to his feet.**

**The blonde boy flew a few feet backwards with a startled cry as the orange of his vest very rapidly turned a dark shade of red.**

**A split second later, that same leader was smashed against one of the maze walls by Sakura's foot before she crouched down and tore open Naruto's shirt, her hands glowing a florescent green.**

**"Hey, how did you like the taste of that ramen you tried a few days ago? Maybe Teuchi-san really does have some competition," she said. The cameras in that hallway zoomed in to the image of her holding in the boy's organs and hastily sealing over the skin of his torso. He coughed and hacked up blood and phlegm and gave a weak smile.**

**"Te... Teuchi-s-san...? Nah... he's... h-he's still..."**

**Sakura placed a palm on his forehead and sent him into a chakra-induced sleep. With four flags still on her waist, she hefted Naruto onto her back and turned in time to see Sasuke in the midst of two unconscious bodies. Their opponent's flags were in his grasp, shrouded in an orange flame.**

**"Is the dobe going to be alright?" he asked. He faced his teammate with his left eye now sporting three tomoe.**

**"He'll live," she informed. "It'll take him a few days to recover, even with how fast he heals."**

**His eyes returned to their normal murky black. "Hn. Then let's go."**

The three of them made it to the center of the maze a few hours later and Kakashi left the room of jounin to rush over to the hospital as quickly as he could.

::

_ After writing her surname, she bit her thumb again to draw more blood.  _

_ "Because it seems that we're the same, councilman." _

_ Sakura pressed her finger back onto the paper and met his questioning gaze. _

_ "There's a lot of other people who don't know about the things we've done." _

::

When the second exam wrapped up, discomforting whispers spread around the village. The number  _ 'four' _ was spoken many times amongst the competitors and testers alike when that particular exam finished during the fourth Friday of the month.

Because four is the number of death and even shinobi can afford to be superstitious.

Kakashi isn't one to believe in silly things like that, but even he had to admit that four had appeared in an odd line of coincidences. The second exam started with forty-four teams. His genin had four flags when they encountered their fourth team in the maze, and they became one of the four teams to survive and compete in the finals. 

Anyone else that wasn't him probably would be pulling out their whole team from the competition.

A week was given in between the second and third exam for rest and recuperation before the one on one fights began.

"Hey, sensei?" Naruto called from his cot. Kakashi, who was seated in the chair beside him, looked up from his reading.

"Yes?"

"Can I, um, can I... forfeit?"

The jounin paused for a moment before he tucked his book away and moved his full attention to his student. Naruto squirmed under the blank gaze ducked his head as he offered a strong explanation in an unexpectedly soft sort of tone.

"I... I didn't think the exams were gonna be as hard as they were. Are. I thought if I had Sakura-chan and Sasuke then it was gonna be okay, but... I didn't expect to end up here so early, eheheh..." He scratched the back of his head. "... um, I don't think I'm ready to be a chuunin. Sakura-chan and Sasuke might, but... I shouldn't compare myself to them and go at my own pace. Right? I-I don't wanna disappoint you too, sensei..."

"I'm not disappointed," Kakashi answered immediately. "There's nothing wrong with thinking you're not ready for something. You don't have to force yourself to do anything, and I know Sasuke and Sakura aren't going to regard you any differently."

"But I—"

"But nothing. You're just as important as anyone else and if this is your decision, I'll honor that. Understand?"

Naruto raised his head and nodded, a wide grin spreading over his face. "Yeah!"

With the count including Naruto, a total of four candidates dropped out.

::

_ Sakura finished signing her name and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes trained themselves on a random spot on the ceiling and she sighed. "And that just means no one's going to know about what we  _ will  _ do, does it?" _

::

Four matches were set in the first bracket and some shinobi refused to set foot in the stadium when they realized the dreaded number had made another appearance. All that remained were eight contestants: two from Konoha, three from Iwagakure, two from Nadeshiko, and one from Tanigakure.

Sakura was part of the first match of the day. She could see Kakashi and Naruto seated on the east side in one of the front rows, the latter cheering as loudly as he could and the former silent with his arms crossed over his chest. To the north was Sasori in his Akatsuki hat and pure black cloak, but she could clearly see the teasing smile on his lips. And on the west side was Hidan and Juugo in their monk garb looking like a couple of interested passersby.

She inwardly applauded him for his good acting.

Their proctor stepped out into the cheering crowd with a smirk and long blonde hair spilling over his shoulders.

"Welcome to the Chuunin Exam Finals, un!" he shouted for the whole stadium to hear and they were hushed into quiet. "I'm Deidara and I'll be proctoring the matches today! First there will be four matches in the first bracket, two matches in the second, and then finally, the championship! The rules are simple: fight until one person is unable to and end as quickly as you can, un!"

He looked at the Tanigakure shinobi, then at Sakura.

"Ready, hm?" he asked them. With no protest from either genin, Deidara stepped back and raised an arm. "Begin!"

The point of the match was to end as quickly as possible. 

So, that's exactly what Sakura did.

Before the other competitor could even  _ think  _ of moving, she appeared behind him and hit the pressure point between his shoulder blades. Her opponent fell forward with a faint thump and she was met with the hundreds of pairs of eyes in a dead silent arena.

Well, near dead silent. If Naruto wasn't present.

"WOOHOO! GO SAKURA-CHAN! YOU'RE THE BEST, DATTEBAYO!"

Deidara coughed and walked back onto the field. "Winner: Haruno Sakura!" 

A squad of medics trooped to the grounds and lifted the unconscious genin onto the stretcher as Sakura walked back to the finalists' room and sat right beside Sasuke. He bumped her shoulder and leaned against her.

"If I make it to the next round and have to go against you, I'm going to forfeit."

"Aw, why?"

"You would end me," he answered simply. "And I like living."

His match was third and he lost with a grace that only an Uchiha could possibly retain. His opponent was from Iwagakure and was more adept in taijutsu and was literally swept off his feet and pinned against the ground so that he couldn't move. Sasuke refused to rely on his sharingan in the exam that tested pure skill alone.

"Why won't you use it, Uchiha?" the Iwa genin snarled. Sasuke blinked at him and answered in a voice that ran over like cool silk.

"My kekkei genkai will not be my crutch. If I lose to someone like you without it, I know that I'm not ready to be promoted."

Deidara stepped in and stopped the match, recognizing the forfeit and declaring the winner.

::

_ The councilman stared at the blood-stained pages, a contemplative look on his worn and weary features. _

::

After the display of power and competency in Sakura's first match, it was no surprise to the spectators that she was the one to come out of the finals victorious without breaking a sweat. Her teammates, though, weren't as fortunate as her in being granted the title of chuunin—something her and three other candidates shared. 

Sasuke and Naruto weren't at all bothered by keeping their genin status and instead huddled around her as they walked the road back to Konoha, asking question after question that more concerned their status as a team.

"I mean, you can still train with us, right, Sakura-chan?"

"He knows us. He should."

"I should be able to, but you know how the old man works. Now that I'm chuunin, he'll probably slot me in a regular spot at T&I so I could probably only see you guys a couple of days a week, I don't know. I'll bribe him or something."

Kakashi stayed a bit back from his team, his usual book in his hands and his upper body as well-postured as they always were.  _ They were so close _ , he thought. It didn't matter how much failure or power or status or standing separated who the world thought they were, they didn't let that stop them.

They were a family that refused to part, and sometimes, when he saw that, the darker corner of his heart pulsed regret through his veins.

To think he tried to tell them that protocol stood over morals. That orders from a leader were the only orders to be followed. That relying on one another would do nothing but make it harder to be alone.

“—ue. Right, sensei?!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi glanced down at them.

"What?"

"Going deaf with old age, Kakashi?" Sakura grinned. "He said that when we get back to Konoha, we should go get some barbeque at Yakiniku Q. You're coming with, right?"

Three pairs of eyes moved up to him, shining with a hope that had never been put upon him before no matter how trivial the request was. Six months ago, he would have told them no because he had no obligations to babysit a team he never wanted.

But he looked back to his book and turned a page. "Only because you need a chaperone to make sure you don't bother any of the villagers."

::

_ "No," Danzo answered. "I suppose they won't." _

::

**EDITED 2.22.18**


	56. Eleven (1)

Sakura was reading a book in her room when a chameleon appeared on her window sill with a message in handwriting she'd never seen before.

_ It's only right for you to know that the way your diamond shines is in the hands of the leaves that gather. _

::

"Sasuke, we've been back for a week and you still haven't gone to see your family."

A scowl.

"Hey, don't give me that. You need to go back at some point."

On their first off day back, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura decided to walk one of Konoha's many park trails and spend their sunny morning talking at one of the picnic tables that lined the path. Naruto sprawled himself across the table top, his casual black shirt riding up halfway with his cargo pants filled with all kinds of small snacks. Sasuke had on a purple tank top (too reminiscent of Orochimaru's coloring for Sakura's liking) and plain black joggers as he idly picked out some hard candies from Naruto's pockets.

"How was your first week at work, Sakura?" he asked. She sighed as she leaned back against the tree by the table.

"The old man's been running me ragged ever since I got promoted. You know those errands he and Genma had me do before? Now it's official and Anko jumped in on the fun. Paperwork sucks."

Upon their return to Konoha and delivering the news to Dan, she was granted her flak jacket and an official position in T&I. There, she worked on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays filing paperwork and being assistant to her three sensei.

"But enough about me," she said. "This is about you and the fact that you need to go home."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes.

"Then what? I _attacked_ a clan member before leaving the exams and came back a genin. I'm a main house member and all I have to show for it is being a disappointment. Tou-sama hates failure, and I know that's all I am to him."

He unwrapped one of the hard candies and popped it into his mouth. He didn't appear too bothered by the fact and was more resigned than anything, like he'd been sitting on such a depressing thought for quite a long while. 

Naruto sat up.

"Wait. Hold on- is... is that what you really think?" he questioned worriedly. Sakura scooted closer to her friend and narrowed her eyes in thought. Sasuke shrugged and reached for another candy.

"Clans work a certain way, especially main houses. If the eldest heir is more than enough, the younger ones don't matter. Uchiha Itachi is my brother," he stressed. "He became ANBU Captain at thirteen and made chuunin his first try at my age. I failed and he passed with flying colors."

Naruto sputtered incredulously.

"Bu-But you're still his son!"

"His second son. He never cared before."

Sasuke glanced towards the grass.

"He never cared until the mangekyou. Then they all started breathing down my neck because of it."

A short breeze flitted through the air.

"I don't like being at home," he muttered quietly. "When I'm there, I feel like I can't breathe."

Naruto looked torn between trying to comfort him and holding his tongue because he didn't quite know what to say about it. He never had problems that involved family like that before. First he had no one, then he had Sakura and Sasuke, then he was able to make his group of loved ones even bigger with the addition of Iruka and Mari.

The only family he'd even known loved him unconditionally.

He didn't know what it was like to be a prisoner in his own home.

Sakura, on the other hand, observed her friend with a scrutinizing eye. She imagined that if Sasuke's family never died, he'd be happier in the life he would be living. But there was still that familiar bitterness of low self-worth. Not as much as before, but it was there.

Bubbling. Culminating.

She didn't want him to become what he was before.

"Are you willing to try, at least?"

Sasuke looked at her.

"Try what?"

"To show your father that he's wrong," she said. "Yeah, you're his second son and you might not have the achievements your brother has, but that's not a bad thing. You're not him and Fugaku-sama might not realize that now, but he will. When he sees that you're your own person who can make his own decisions and progress at his own pace, than that's good, right? You have to go home and try, though." 

Naruto popped in excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah! And I mean, it's okay if you don't wanna stay at your place _everyday_ if, uh, you feel... strangled... again, you can stay with me or Sakura-chan 'cause we think sleepovers are cool!" he exclaimed. "So just-just try to talk to them, okay? We don't want to see you so sad."

Sasuke stared at the hopeful, supporting looks the two were giving him and felt a warm feeling flowing through his chest. He nodded.

"Okay."

::

Hinata knew she wasn't someone overly exceptional. She wasn't the strongest Hyuuga, she was very shy and soft-spoken, and she had a stuttering problem she couldn't fix no matter how much she tried. Because of such things most people thought were her 'personality flaws', she was widely left to be without making a single friend.

Until _her_.

When she saw _her_ on the first day of school, she was floored. The girl had a head held high above squared shoulders and stood to the left of the boy who everyone called a monster: Uzumaki Naruto. He always looked so miserable and lonely when she saw him, but he was completely content as he dragged his two companions- the other an Uchiha- to an empty row. 

"Come on, Sakura-chan! Sasuke!"

So Sakura was her name. It was pretty. 

The Hyuuga had quietly watched from the back, half curiously half shyly, as they took their seats and started conversing  among themselves and another chubby boy who sat in the row behind them. She squeaked when the pink haired girl turned to meet her gaze and gave a genuine smile.

Hinata was sure that was the moment she found out how it was to really like someone in a non-familial sense.

Years passed and she saw that Sakura was so much more than kind and beautiful. She was strong enough to defend her friend against their teacher's prejudice, skilled enough to be the top of the class both physically and academically, and wise enough to know right from wrong no matter what anyone told her.

Haruno Sakura was everything she wasn't, and for a short time, she was envious of that fact.

How could someone be so perfect? No matter what Hinata did, she couldn't stop being the weird, shy kid who couldn't speak a coherent sentence without staring at the ground and twiddling her fingers. She was so sure that with the way she was, and how much of a disappointment she was proving herself to be, she was never going to be like Sakura.

But when she started hanging out with the prodigy more and more, she began to realize something.

Sakura was an amazing person, but Hinata didn't want to be like her.

She-

"Hinata!" Hiashi snapped. The eleven year old girl was snapped from her daydream and dragged back to the scene of the open field within the main house in the Hyuuga Estate. "Repeat the series!"

Series... oh.

She slid her feet in position to begin the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms maneuver. Her father had been trying to teach her the technique all morning to no avail. She would always get to sixteen hits before her formation broke or she aimed her hands at the wrong angle, and her father would stop her mid-strike to have her perform it from the very beginning.

This time was no different.

At the fifteenth hit, left foot skid just a centimeter to the right and she was stopped. Hiashi regarded her with heavy displeasure before walking back into the house. As the man retreated to leave his eldest alone to rethink her incapability, Hinata ducked her head and left the estate once he disappeared from sight.

She knew it was hard for her to pick up some concepts as her family expected her to. She was the heiress to a prestigious noble clan that was to act as the leader the branch family looked up to in fear and respect. 

And she couldn't even learn a simple technique in one day.

Hinata hurried down a familiar path to the other side of the village. She couldn't keep this up, failing over and over against just to eventually shove her title and responsibility onto her little sister's shoulders.

How could she possibly think of doing such a thing to Hanabi? In order to keep her from falling into the deep-set grip of the Hyuuga, she had to become stronger.

So her feet carried her to the find the one person who could possibly help her to be better.

And that person was currently working at the T&I building.

::

"S-Sakura-san, can I, u-um, c-can I please speak with y-you?" Hinata stammered. Sakura looked up from marking and editing public documents. She wore the typical gray uniform of those who worked for T&I, but had her gray button-up open to reveal a red tank top and sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Out of standard, but begrudgingly allowed.

"Sure," she replied easily. "I can take my break once I'm done submitting these. Can you wait in the old man's office until I get back?"

The Hyuuga nodded meekly and blushed as Sakura beamed and walked away. The chuunin wandered next door to the Cryptanalysis building, a thoughtful expression on her face. It was an odd encounter for Hinata to come with a request during one of her workdays. All her friends knew when she didn't have much time to spare and understood her current restraints and made their visits scarce unless they had an emergency.

Hinata, the shy little thing she was, was the last person she expected to drop by unannounced.

Interesting. And she had a pretty good idea of what it was about.

But Sakura put that thought aside for only a moment as she mulled over the most recent letters Sasori sent through Yori and new additions from Hidan received from his less subtle alligator summons.

_Everything about Nagato turned up blank or missing. He doesn't want to be found and I must say, he's doing a damn fine job of it. He's been back for how long? Probably more than ten years? He's got the upper hand._

** ~Marionette **

_\--_

_Being what I am has been more of a cover than anything. I must be a fantastic actor for these damn idiots not to realize what I'm really capable of. Fucking morons. Anyway, I've gotten to comb through a lot of the different countries after I came back._

_I'm real fucking skeptical that he's on the mainland. There's too much attention for that._

**~⎊**

\--

Hidan didn't sign with an alias or initial like she and Sasori had done, but with the symbol that marked his old faith. Obscure and if ever traced, it wouldn't be linked to him or his current affiliation.

Smart.

But of course all their leads would be dead ends. Nagato too was smart and in possession of one of the most powerful doujutsu known to shinobi. The three of them against him alone might be enough of a force to make him stand down, but if he had access to his paths...

Sakura sighed and left to where she was positive Hinata was still patiently waiting for her. The problem was quickly escalating into something that should be far out of her reach.

She was never meant to hold her friend's futures in her hands.

_It was never supposed to be her to be their hero. She wasn't made for that._

Upon returning to Ibiki's office, Hinata (who sat shyly on the couch) shot to her feet and approached Sakura with a nervous smile.

"U-Um, Sakura-s-san? About m-my question..."

Sakura nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"What's up, Hinata?"

She jumped a bit when the heiress suddenly dropped her torso to be parallel to the ground and pleaded in a strong voice.

"Please, train me!"

::

Shino didn't mind when he was sought out for in the middle of his weekly insect scouting. Sakura had come up to him about an hour ago with a strange request-one he had to consider for a few minutes before delivering a suitable answer.

"Are there any bugs you _don't_ mind losing?"

...

"Mosquitoes. Although their larvae act as filter feeders and are food for some aquatic species, they carry deadly diseases and aren't a prime choosing for the Aburame to control," he said. He gave her an odd look through his dark lenses. "Why? Are you going to conduct an experiment that may lead to their untimely deaths?"

Sakura grinned.

"Something like that, but's it's for Hinata. Want to help out?"

He already summonsed his tracer colony and spanned them out in all directions.

"Hm."

An hour later, Shino, Sakura, and Hinata gathered at a training ground close to a shallow river. The latter stood ankle-deep in the water with the others waiting and watching from the bank, each holding a jar of buzzing black masses.

"I know you haven't learned how to walk on water yet, but this should be fine. Hiashi-sama's been teaching you some clan techniques or something like that, I'm guessing," Sakura said. Are you familiar with the Mizu Hari?"

The Mizu Hari, or water needle, was a move able to be used with the chakra control granted by the gentle fist style, therefore only mostly accessible by the Hyuuga. When in or on water, the user's concentrated chakra created small vortexes that launched senbon-like blasts towards targets. If Sakura remembered correctly, the old Naruto told her a thirteen year old Hinata was capable of it.

An eleven year old Hinata should only have some trouble.

She nodded.

"Y-Yes, I've seen many cl-clan members perform th-the Mizu Hari," she replied. It took a few seconds, but her face eventually paled when she realized what was being asked of her. "Wa-Wa-Wait--!!

Shino cut her off.

"I will release five mosquitoes at a time and you'll try to attack them using the Mizu Hari. I assure you, the ones that were infected have been eradicated," he promised. Sakura smiled as Hinata grew even more horrified.

"Don't worry, if any of them get too close I won't let them touch you. And I know you can do it."

The heiress sincerely doubted that, but activated her byakugan anyways. She wouldn't let them down too.

True, Sakura was an amazing person, but Hinata didn't want to be like her.

She wanted to be strong enough to stand beside her.

"Y-Yes!"

::

Dinner was a silent affair at the main Uchiha household. A handful of days passed since Sasuke finally returned home and Mikoto welcomed him back with tears and open arms. But even then, neither his father or brother had very much to say to him. 

And, they'd created a routine around the aching gap of their strained relationship. Sasuke would wake up earlier than everyone else, make himself something to eat, then leave the house just as his mother came down the stairs to make breakfast. He would be absent until dinner where Sasuke wouldn't utter one word before retiring to his room for him to repeat the process the very next day.

Until one seemingly unfortunate night when Fugaku decided enough was enough.

"Sasuke."

The boy set down his chopsticks and brought his tea cup close to his lips. He blew the steam.

"Tou-sama," he returned coolly. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Mikoto and Itachi exchanged uncomfortable glances. Fugaku frowned. His youngest had never shown such level-headedness and courage towards him before.

"Prior to your... disappearance, it came to my attention that you attacked one of our own. I've already heard what happened from those who witnessed and I understand your cousins were the ones in the wrong. I would like to hear your side," he demanded firmly. Sasuke was quiet for a beat, then set his cup back down onto the table's wooden surface.

"I don't know what you want me to say. First they started treating people like objects, then they publicly insulted someone because they thought they were different," the boy explained. "I told the stranger what I honestly thought- that they looked nice and they should ignore the things my cousins said."

He turned his head.

"One of them justified their actions by saying the stranger was a faggot who didn't need decency."

The vile word rolled off his tongue like a mouthful of dirt and kerosene. Mikoto covered her mouth in surprise.

"Then you punched him?" she ventured. He nodded.

"I couldn't control my anger and I'm sorry for that," Sasuke said. "But I won't apologize to them for what I did because I don't regret my actions. I'd do it again if I had to."

Itachi looked down at his half eaten meal. He didn't particularly agree with Sasuke's rather violent course of discipline, but he had to admit his brother was more mature than he thought. Standing up for what he believed in, having an open-mind, and going against family for the sake of doing what he thought was right.

... When did Sasuke have the chance to grow up when he wasn't looking?

Fugaku narrowed his eyes.

"And who taught you to think this way?" he questioned. A flash of discomfort crossed Sasuke's face as he picked up his chopsticks and stared into his rice.

"I'm my own person," he replied quietly. "I can think for myself."

The conversation quickly fell apart after that, an eleven year old's words cutting longer and deeper than they prepared themselves for. This was a boy who prematurely activated a path towards and Uchiha's most feared hatred, but only used it to benefit others, never just himself.

And they all thought he was just a kid who didn't know what it really meat to be a shinobi.

Dinner continued, just as silent as when it began, but with a new light cast upon the boy they never regarded as highly as his brother.

::

Kakashi eyed the line up on his training field with an unimpressed raised brow. Naruto, present. Sasuke, present. Sakura, unfortunately present. And a pearly-eyed girl he never met before but was familiar-looking enough to know that she had to be one of Hyuuga Hiashi's daughters.

He stared at her.

"Who are you?"

"Hy-Hyuuga Hinata, s-sir."

"Why are you here?"

She shifted from foot to foot and twiddled her fingers.

"I, u-um, Sa-Sakura-san..."

He blinked, impassive and wholly unamused. Or course it had something to do with Sakura. Everything that intentionally threw him off course or aimed to make a mockery of him more than likely had to do with her. Kakashi restrained a sigh and turned towards the bane of his existence.

"You're going to hijack my training session again, aren't you?"

Sakura grinned.

"Aw, look at you, Kakashi! Finally learning!" she exclaimed. She stepped in front of her teacher and covered him as much as her smaller self could to regard her team and new 'student'. "I'm taking over for today. Naruto!"

He straightened at the call and listened attentively.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"Work on your chakra control. You know how you stand on water, make your clones, then fall in because you can't keep a constant flow? Practice that until you can keep steady on the surface," she ordered. Naruto saluted and jumped the bridge to land on top of the river as Sakura faced the remaining two.

"Sasuke, you'll spar Hinata. Taijutsu only, gentle fist allowed, doujutsu required. Don't hold back and if the fight is too overwhelming, don't feel ashamed to yield and take breaks."

Both the genin of noble clans nodded and drifted off to the far edge of the grounds so that any damage they'd make wouldn't reach Naruto, Kakashi, or Sakura. At their departure, the certified jounin instructor crossed his arms and stared after the newcomer.

"That girl... isn't she one of your friends from the Academy? Who should still be in class?" he questioned. Sakura waved her hand dismissively.

"I told Iruka-sensei why she wouldn't be in today and to not tell any of the Hyuuga about it," she shrugged. "She came by during my shift the other day and asked me to train her. I've roped Shino to help with her accuracy and Sasuke agreed to be her sparring partner every now and again. A friendly competition between the sharingan and the byakugan should be healthy, right?"

Kakashi grunted. Using his training time to help a friend crawled across his nerves, but that sort of irritation was starting to become annoyingly normal for him. Her tyranny didn't burrow under his skin anymore and her cheeky remarks unwittingly tugged the edge of his mouth.

Not to mention Naruto's boisterousness and Sasuke's snark was starting to amuse him.

_God_ , he hated them. He hated them so much. 

"Not that I'm saying you shouldn't go to lengths to help her," he started. "But she has a high standing on the shinobi social hierarchy. There's never a shortage of people that can help her."

They stayed lounging on that red bridge, the sun on their skin and the sounds of splashing water and a symphony of battle cries encasing their ears. Sakura wondered that if it had been like this before- if they all were trying to help more- her old life wouldn't have turned out the way it did.

"...kura."

She tipped her head.

"What?"

"I asked why you decided to go out of your way for her."

"Well..." she trailed off. She let some seconds tick by before shrugging again. "...well, it's like you said. We're friends. I'd go out of my way for them any day."

His gaze lingered on her for a moment before moving towards Naruto.

_...Friends, was it?_

::

Neji loathed the main family.

What right did they have to hold fear and authority over the branches? What right did they have to hold the clan's power in their hands be able to kill any other member by the simple curling of their fingers. What _right_ did they have to dictate others' destiny by tattooing a mark of shame on their foreheads for the world to see that they were nothing but disposables?!

And this noble clan-- _these dignified shinobi_ would eventually by succeeded by a sorry excuse of an heiress who couldn't even master a simple technique!

He scowled as he combed through the training grounds around Konoha. Hinata was supposed to be back two hours ago and he was sent to find her. Where was she?! She had a duty to her clan and there was no room for her to slack off, especially with the horrible way she presented herself.

_Her_ the heiress. How desperate did this family had to be to slot a weak-willed mouse into the clan head position?

"Again!" a shout echoed from somewhere ahead of him. Neji followed the sound to somewhere on one of the genin training grounds. Odd... it was typically far too late at night for lower-ranking to be on their own.

Metal clashed against metal, and the dull thud of a body hitting the ground echoed through the air.

"Again!" the same voice snapped. He frowned and hid himself in the surrounding foliage the closer he got to the commotion. Soon he was met with a clearing showered with moonlight and the glow of several lanterns, but scorched with chakra burns and weapon marks.

Two figures fought in center, though maybe 'fought' was too strong of a word.

The first, Neji recognized, was the pink-haired girl who made herself a common visitor to the Estate. Her bandaged arms blocked every hit she received with astounding precision and every blow of her own she dealt- as scarce as they were- felled her opponent in one strike.

Like now, when a punch to the back sent the other sprawling forward into the grass.

Sakura wiped her brow.

"Again!" she barked. The other caught their breath as they pushed themselves onto unstable legs. Blooming bruises, cuts and scratches, and a war cry of retaliation--

"... Hinata-sama?" he mouthed disbelievingly. Hinata, caked in dirt and sweat and slips of blood, attacked her friend in a flurry of gentle fist impacts in a way she never displayed to her father or the elders. There was determination, vigor, skill, _strength_! Things he'd never seen in her before!

"This is where she's been practicing for the past few weeks," a new voice mentioned from his side. "Were you aware?"

Neji quickly turned his head and nearly brought it back down in resistant respect.

"No, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi hummed and returned his attention to the fight. Much to his expectation, Sakura was having little to no trouble blocking each jab in her direction. Unlike his daughter, she showed no injury or struggle and would send Hinata crashing to the ground every few minutes.

"Again!"

And Hinata would stand up.

"Did you want me to see her?" Neji questioned bitterly. It changed nothing. There was no difference to whether she was shirking her duties or not, he wouldn't see her in a better light. She would never be good enough for the head position, and she could never have what it took to be the person the Hyuuga looked up to.

"Perhaps," Hiashi replied. "Maybe it's because it's something you need to understand."

When his cousin was dropped again for the who-knows-what time. Sakura placed her hands on her hips and regarded her friend worriedly.

"We can stop for the night, you know. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep going," she said. Hinata coughed and jerkily shook her head. She tried to stand another time, but it was obvious to all her saw that her muscles and reserves couldn't take any more.

"I have to..." she whispered. She tried once more to get up to her feet and ended up careening straight into the chuunin's arms. "... to... t-to... can't let... anyone down... any... m-more..."

She went limp.

"Over-exertion is a thing, Hinata," Sakura sighed. She lifted her friend into her arms and started walking towards their hidden audience, noticing that Neji had already gone. A shame. "I'm putting her out of commission for the rest of the week, Hyuuga-sama. Give her some time to let her injuries heal and to rest her eyes."

She delivered the unconscious girl into her father's waiting arms. He tilted his head.

"Yes, I remember your instructions from when you first informed me of her circumstances those few weeks ago," he said. "It's not everyday that she would rather seek help from a friend rather than those at the Estate, nor did I think you would personally come and explain her situation me me."

She rolled her shoulders.

"It's the least I could do," she answered. "After all, I never knew the Hyuuga were tied to chameleons the way the Uchiha were tied to cats."

Hiashi paid her no mind.

"I know nothing of what you speak of."

"The way my diamond shines is in the hands of the leaves that gather..." she recited slowly. Sakura bent to pick up a stray kunai and held it up towards the sky, letting the soft glimmer reflect off its edges. "You were talking about the Clans of Konoha meeting, weren't you? About how my future in this village was discussed?"

He angled himself towards the direction of his home.

"I am returning to the estate. Your kindness to my daughter will be remembered," Hiashi said tonelessly. He began to walk away, not stopping even when Sakura called after him.

"Thank you for telling me, Hyuuga-sama."

He said nothing, instead disappearing into the night without a hint of acknowledgement. She sighed a second time and proceeded with the arduous task of cleaning up the training grounds. Hopefully, she'd be back before midnight and prepare to head out earlier than usual before going to work.

Because she made an appointment with the former Hokage with only one question she needed answered:

_Was Danzo right?_


	57. Eleven (2)

"Ugh, the Land of Tea is so far."

"Why is it that you're always complaining? It's not like you had anything better to do and all you did back home was whine."

"Yeah, but this could've been a mission where we kick some ass and save the day- you know how long we've been stuck in the village- but now we're acting liaisons to a rich civilian family. This is practically chuunin level."

"Maybe it's practically chuunin because I'm a chuunin and I can't go solo? Ever think of that, Genma?"

"Give me a break, kid. We all know you do some sneaky stuff in your free time and I'm damn well sure you're not picking flowers while following the rules. This is out of our range of specialty, you know, because we're in T&I for a _reason_."

Sakura rolled her eyes and elbowed her sensei half-heartedly in the ribs. So the Godaime assigned them a job that had no link to their department whatsoever after stationing them within the village for a month straight. At least it was something.

Completely boring, but _something_ nonetheless.

But she wasn't going to be one to complain about a change of scenery. Her part-time job wouldn't be exciting until she reached jounin status and the only thing she had going for her were stacks of paperwork and making sure Anko didn't go overboard with her interrogations. On the other hand, team training was nice with her unofficial spot and Kakashi's assistant and personal tyrant. Naruto needed to work around the kyuubi, Sasuke needed to take some anger management classes, and she...

She was content with being able to skip out on her therapy sessions. Inoichi's decision on slow exposure to Obito wasn't making as much progress as they all hoped, but she'd gotten to the point where she could engage in a short conversation without making eye contact.

That was something, right?

"Oi, kid. We've got a couple of things we need to talk about," Genma said. She glanced up at him.

"What's up?"

"I've seen you poking into things I'm not too sure I like you poking into. Like the other day when you set up an appointment to speak with Sarutobi-sama, or when Morino's telling me you're getting home later and later every day. Not that you're never _not_ suspicious, but I'm getting concerned. Is something going on?" he questioned worriedly. Sakura exhaled quietly and turned her gaze ahead of her.

She hated it when Mama-Genma made an appearance. Whenever he did, it was always because he thought she'd get herself hurt. He'd nag and dote and coddle during such instances (i.e. the panic attack, the mental health examination, her near death in Wave...), and she always ended up feeling guilty for putting him in such a position.

If she lied to him, it would only make her feel worse.

"I got a tip from someone that Danzo formally announced he wanted me in ROOT," she admitted. His jaw set and a seething growl rumbled in his chest. "I asked Sarutobi-sama about it and he told me... um..."

Genma stopped walking and stepped in front of her to block her path. The senbon had gone from his lips and he stared her down with the stormiest expression she'd ever seen.

"He told you...?" he pressed. She stared- searching- into his eyes for a few moments before sighing and looking away.

"He told me Danzo intends on making me his successor."

She was met with utter silence.

Their surroundings kept normal like any other day; the birds were chirping, the breeze waved by, the air kept a warmth that brushed Sakura's skin. Genma's pained face and trembling lips was reason enough why she failed to mention that little detail back in Konoha, especially in Ibiki's company.

"I-It's not that bad."

"Not-- that's one of the worst things you could've told me!" he exclaimed. He scrubbed a hand over his eyes and started pacing. "Don't you know what that means for you?! Being wanted by ROOT was bad enough, but that man's successor? He'll never leave you alone!"

His tone quieted, his voice breaking down to a broken whisper.

"He'll never let you be a normal shinobi."

She bit her lip and tried her hardest not to chance a glance at him. To reiterate: she despised it when Mama-Genma came and poured out his worries. She didn't know what she did to make him care so much, but it hurt to see him so vexed over something she brought onto herself.

"I've... I've never really been a normal shinobi anyway, so it's alright," she tried, slipping by a forced chuckle. "Nothing I can't take care of."

"It's not whether you can take care of it or not! Y-Your future's at stake! Sakura- doesn't this _bother_ you?"

Not really. But why didn't it? The thought that all this unfavorable attention was on her and no one she knew was feeling the brunt of it was relieving. She was fine being the magnet of bad intent as her goal had never once changed ever since she decided to take those first steps after coming back.

Everyone she loved would be happy no matter what happened to her.

No. Wait. 

She had to take better care of herself, right?

"Look, Genma," she said as she rubbed her neck. "It's not going to change anything if Danzo decides to coerce me into his spot once he retires. I'm going to say no regardless of what he does."

_Hiruzen welcomed her into his home and sat her down in his tea room. His walls, of course, were sealed from wandering ears. A security protocol that came with having been a previous Kage. When given the chance, Sakura wasted no time in bringing up the topic she came her for._

_"Is it true that Danzo-sama is the scapegoat of Konoha?"_

_The former Hokage exhaled a stream of smoke he'd taken in from his pipe._

_"Yes."_

He shook his head.

"You can't just say no to a man like _him_ ," he argued. "He'll blackmail you, haunt you, kill you if he ever thinks he doesn't need you anymore!"

True fear flashed over Genma's face as an image of Sakura getting hurt again clouded his mind.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek.

_"I'm not sure what my old friend told you, but you possess dangerous knowledge," he started as he set down his cup of tea. "Thought if he's told you... Dear, I hope you understand the consequences of wandering down this path."_

_She looked down and Hiruzen continued._

_"Consciously carrying a secret unknown to all but Utatane, Mitokado, Danzo, I, and a few select shinobi would make it so that you're no longer able to distance yourself from Konoha's core. If you reveal the this true nature to any one other person, I'm afraid you'll promptly be taken care of."_

_She didn't know why he didn't just say she'd be killed._

She knew Danzo wouldn't kill her, and if he remotely tried, he was aware she had her own power to defend herself against him. And even if he pushed a thread in her direction, both Genma and Ibiki made it clear they'd defend her to the bitter end. Then there was Sasori and Hidan she could always ask help from, but revealing her connection to them had a legitimate chance of making her an enemy against the country.

"He wouldn't do it."

"What makes you so sure about that? He-"

"Won't you think it's strange if I just suddenly disappeared?" she interrupted. At the startled look on the man's face, she apologized. "Sorry. But it'd be weird if one day I got cut off. People know who I am and they'll know when I'm 'taken care of'. I don't think Konoha could afford to have another stain like that on its reputation."

There was a reason Konoha was considered the softest of all the five shinobi nations. It prided itself on teamwork, spirit, and determination-- they wouldn't have someone like her permanently put out of commission because she found out things security couldn't keep under lock and key.

It was like moving Uchiha Itachi to front lines and telling him not to fight or allocating Hatake Kakashi to a desk job instead of on the battlefield. One couldn't get away with it without suspicion and scrutiny.

Sasori would know, Hidan would know. The Mizukage as well would know. 

Inoichi would too because he was her therapist. Both Genma and Ibiki would because they were her guardians, and additionally Kakashi and Anko because they were her teachers. Mari would know because of Iruka and Naruto, and a civilian treading onto shinobi matters drew attention and questions. Hiashi would because he had a keen interest in her, and Fugaku would because he knew what she meant to his youngest son.

If Haruno Sakura vanished without a trace, it wouldn't be quietly.

_"If continue with this... Sakura, please pay heed to why I advise against it. The second you caught T &I's attention was the second you lost the only childhood a youth on the path of a shinobi could have. Initially, I was unaccepting it because I had seen what this life can do to a person. An old man thinking over his mistakes, if you will."_

_Hiruzen's eyes saddened._

_"But then I was informed for an odd, painful reason that you were already too far gone. I still can't fathom how a five year old had come to give their life to the village so soon and without question," he said. She could tell he wasn't just talking about her. "But, it's done and there's not a thing to change that. If you chose to enter Konoha's darker side full of lies, deception, and isolation, know you'll never be allowed to return to who you once were."_

_Who she once was?_

_She couldn't go back to who she was no matter how hard she'd previously tried. No matter how much she hated to._

_Or how much she wanted to._

_"You don't need to worry, Sarutobi-sama," Sakura replied quietly. Her eyes gave a dangerous glint. "Nothing you'll have me do I haven't done before."_

Genma's stare drooped a bit as he shoulders slumped in defeat.

"You're willing to gamble your life on a risk like that?" he questioned. Sakura's lack of reply had him sigh and sling an arm across her shoulders as they restarted their trek back to their original destination. "Find, kid. But I don't want you going into this alone."

She wrapped an arm around his midsection, returning the gesture.

"Whatever you say."

::

The Wasabi Family had lived in the Land of Tea for over twenty years, founded and currently headed by a man named Jirocho. Along with their esteem came with their long standing feud with the Wagarashi Family- headed by Kyuroko- over who would gain control of Degarashi Port. 

Those who controlled the port controlled trade, and those who controlled trade controlled one of the country's main sources of profit.

Every four years the Todoroki Shrine Race was held for the two families to compete and decide who would gain ownership of the port until the next race. The Wasabi had managed their victory the last three races and if they won the one that took place next year, they'd win possession for life. Tea's Daimyou, particularly interested with the outcome that would take place in ten months, hired shinobi from a neighboring country to establish an unbiased report on both the Wagarashi and Wasabi to compile data to keep in his records.

Why Genma and her were assigned the task they had absolutely no idea, but Sakura felt a numb familiarity as she stopped next to her teacher when he knocked on the door of the Wasabi compound. She'd been here before; it was an escort mission with Sasuke, Naruto, and herself sometime after the chuunin exams. A mission that added incentive to Sasuke's breaking point.

She remembered saving him from falling off a cliff that day.

_She remembered the hate in his eyes when Naruto defeated an opponent he couldn't._

Sakura snapped form her musings when the door opened and a face straight from her memories appeared: a boy a few years older than her with dark hair pulled back in a bind and equally dark eyes that searched them with distrust.

"Are you the two Daimyou-sama hired?" he asked. Genma plucked the senbon form his lips and nodded.

"That's us. We're here to meet with Wasabi Jirocho-san."

The boy stepped aside and let them in. Sakura pursed her lips in unnatural silence as she and Genma were led through the house. He cast her a curious looks at her lack of action.

"Something wrong?" he mouthed. She frowned.

"I've seen him in a picture with the old man before," she mouthed back. His forehead scrunched up in deep consideration all they way they until they were brought to the main sitting room. A lone man sat near the open shoji door that led to a well kept backyard. He was old and built with a bigger frame and sterner face than most.

"Thank you for coming, Konoha-nin," he greeted them. "I am Wasabi Jirocho."

"Shiranui Genma. And this is my student, Haruno Sakura," the tokubetsu jounin introduced. Sakura bowed her head in respect and allowed herself to be ushered to the cushioned seats in front of the family head. 

Jirocho motioned the strange boy forward to take a spot beside him.

"Come here, Idate. What we're going to discuss with Shiranui-san and Haruno-san is vital to your participation in the race next year."

It clicked.

Genma's eyes flickered first to Sakura, then to the young teen who settled down across from them. Of course he was familiar and of course Sakura recognized him from somewhere.

Idate.

The one who sat at Wasabi Jirocho's side alive and well was Ibiki's younger brother, a boy who was declared dead three years ago.

::

Temari had a neutral feeling towards her youngest brother. Father didn't like him, Kankuro stayed at least five meters away at all times, and Uncle actively tried to be the parental figure in his life. But she supposed she could understand why Yashamaru tried so hard.

There wasn't one place Gaara could go where he wasn't looked at with disgust and fear.

... Was he really that bad? Everyone always said to stay away from Gaara because he could lose control and kill someone, though the more she observed, the more she found he wasn't as dangerous he was made out to be. He would always be by himself, mostly in his room never losing sight of that pink stone shell and old puppet model.

Temari pressed her lips together and left her room with a new resolve. She was a decently strong shinobi (albeit still a genin) and she was the head of the household since her father was never home. No one could tell her what was right and what wasn't without her seeing to it herself.

She passed by Kankuro as she strode down the hall. He glanced at her, the small puppet prototype in his hands, then back at his big sister.

"Where are you going?"

"Gaara's room."

"W-What?! Tou-sama said never to-"

"Well Tou-sama's not here, is he?" she said. "And you better not say anything or you'll be my next training dummy, go it?"

He nodded quickly and hurried back to his workshop without question. No one ever argued with the Kazekage's eldest once her mind was set. Continuing on with her advance, she stopped in front of the door she avoided for years. The determination she had so much of before shook as she gazed at the old wood that was so rarely knocked on as she raised her knuckles.

It opened a crack before she could make the motion.

A pale face with dark rings around the eyes peered up at her with unadulterated curiosity.

"Why are you standing in front of my room?"

Temari gulped.

"I... I wanted to see how you were."

Maybe he would kill her- did she disturb him? No, he didn't look angry but he had to be, right? Father always said to be careful around him because he could go on a rampage at any given second no matter if he was upset or not.

Gaara blinked at her in surprise. After a pause and almost closing the door right in her face, he shuffled to the side and opened the door a little wider. Reluctantly, Temari let herself in and faced what horrors could await her in that room.

It...

... well, not horrors. Not really.

What she expected was dark and stuffy, like the way Father always described her baby brother. But the balcony doors had been pushed all the way to the side for the bright, hot sun to pour its rays into every crack and crevice of the cacti-covered room. There were cacti of all kinds on his desk, table, dresser, and window sills with some of them blooming the most beautiful flowers she'd never seen in the middle of the desert.

She turned to look at him.

"You like raising cacti?"

He nodded.

"It's my favorite thing to do," he answered quietly. She ventured further into the room to get a better look at his cultivations and realized that they were actually well taken care of. They were all healthy and looked like they were tended to every passing day. The one beside his bed had a large orange flower growing from the side, the pink stone shell sat next to the pot.

Gaara perked up.

"The girl who gave me that was sick," he explained as he walked up to his sister. "So I gave her my favorite cactus to try and make her feel better."

Temari cocked her head.

"Girl?"

"She lives somewhere else, but she visits sometimes. She's nice and I like hearing her stories."

A cute little smile grew on his face as he gazed down at the small shell, eliciting another dawning realization from Temari.

There was no monster.

::

Karura would be so disappointed in him if she knew that he failed to spend time with his own children, instead leaving that task to Yashamaru and Baki. If she was still alive, perhaps he'd spend more time with his family rather than burying himself in his Kage work like he was doing now.

But she wasn't here, was she?

As Rasa silently strode through the hallways of his home well into the night, he immediately noticed the door to his youngest's room was set slightly ajar. Light trickled out and it made him pause.

One, Gaara never had his door open. Never. That meant an invitation to enter if anyone pleased and he tried to keep himself away from any sort of human contact if he could help it. Two, Rasa _swore_ he could hear a voice coming from that room. Her crept to the crack and peeked inside.

His shoulders went slack.

Sand hovered in the air, slowly swirling in the air to cast a scene of small squirrels and birds playing on an open field. Gaara had a wide small on his face as he went on and on about animals he met sometime before and Temari watched from the bed in wonder- speechless. In the midst of his story, he turned his head to meet the dark, stolid eyes of his father.

The sand hit the ground with a shush.

"I wasn't going to hurt her," was the first thing to leave his mouth. Gaara backed up as far away from the door as he could. "I wasn't. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

Rasa pulled the door open, but that proved to be the wrong move.

The sand shot around Gaara's small body and disappeared out the open balcony, leaving nothing nothing but a few specs of dust. Temari got to her feet and angrily stalked over to her father.

"Why did you scare him off?!" she accused. Rasa blinked. She'd never spoken to him in that tone before. "Do you know how long it took for him to open up like that?! Now he'll be gone for days and-- ugh!"

She brushed past him.

The Kazekage stood, dumbfounded, as he stared into the room full of potted cacti and at the pink stone shell on the nightstand.

::

Before Idate didn't know about his brother until Team Seven came into the picture and led him on the path to discover it on his own. But how the circumstances had a taken a drastic change and Sakura had the choice to let him know now or wait for him to find out a little under a year later. Either way he'd find out-- but would it be better for them to know now?

Sakura kept silent for the most part as Jirocho spoke about the family history and plans they'd take if they took control of Degarashi Port and Genma documented verbatim. She noticed Idate had been displeased ever since they arrived.

"I don't understand," he announced suddenly. He grimaced as his gaze went between the two Konoha-nin. "We don't need shinobi in our business. This a problem that needs to be solved with us and the Daimyou. The middle party is useless."

Jirocho frowned.

"Idate, respect!"

"This was probably done to eliminate bias," Sakura intervened smoothly, speaking up for the first time since her arrival. "Whatever information you give us we can fact check on our own and we can tel the Daimyou about who's lying and who isn't."

"But it didn't need to be shinobi!" he hissed.

"Idate!"

He quickly excused himself and left the room with the slight slam of the door as Jirocho heaved a sigh and offered his guests an apology.

"He's not normally like this, but the mention of shinobi always strikes a chord within him. I take full responsibility for his actions, so please leave that issue to me," he said. Sakura glanced over her shoulder for a moment, then returned her attention back in front. This was no different from what she'd seen before. He was angry and bitter, but Team Seven would change him.

Though he still deserved to know because it wasn't even close to a secret that she had a right to keep.

So Sakura kept her mouth shut for the rest of the meeting and disappeared from Genma's side when they were dismissed.

::

"Do you hate our career in general, hate the village, or have we just done something to offend you?"

Idate nearly jumped out of his skin as he whipped around to find the source of the voice. It came from the roof of the compound where the pink-haired girl sat with her legs dangling over the edge. A slight smile curled at the edge of her lips, not necessarily happy but nice enough to be taken as such. He scowled.

"Does it matter? You'll just do your job and leave so what difference does it make?" he bit out. Idate turned back to whatever he was doing, making a point to ignore her lounging on the roof. Sakura grasped the ledge and leaned forward.

"True," she admitted. "But I didn't come here just for pleasantries. I came for, well... it's not our place, but we wanted to ask you something."

_We?_

Idate flinched. His eyes flickered up and landed on the other Konoha-nin that came. The man leaned against the bark of a tree with a senbon sticking out from the corner of his mouth and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Just one question if you don't mind," Genma said. Idate pursed his lips together as he held in the urge to deepen his scowl.

"What do you want?"

"How come you're not living with your brother, Morino Ibiki?"

A million different emotions clawed at Idate's face as he shot to his feet and slowly tried to back away from the watchful gazes of two complete strangers. His brother? They knew about his brother? It just had to be Konoha who'd bring back horrible memories of smoke, fire, burning-

"Idate-san?" Sakura called out carefully.

"My brother was killed years ago," he seethed. "I don't care who you are or how you know him, but don't bring him up ever again."

Genma and Sakura exchanged glances. The former pushed himself off the tree and took a cautious step forward with his arms held in front of him to signify he meant no harm.

"We didn't mean to upset you, but there's something you need to know."

"Why can't you just _shut up_ and leave-"

"Ibiki's still alive, Idate-san," Genma interrupted.  He froze, allowing for the jounin to continue. "He's still the head of Torture and Interrogation and currently acts as my superior. You were the one in that house fire. They were never able to find your body and declared you K.I.A."

Sakura watched as Idate opened his mouth to try and deny what he just heard. He looked at her, then Genma, then back at her.

"He's... He's dead."

"It'll take a lot to kill an old man like him, you know."

Suddenly, she drew back when the choice he made was from from her expectations. Idate clenched his fists and twisted his head so that he wouldn't meet either of their eyes.

"That doesn't matter. I have a life here and I'm not going to give it up any time soon," he murmured. Sakura dropped down from her place on the roof to take a new place at Genma's side. Her teacher tilted his head and laid a reassuring hand on his student's shoulder.

"If that's what you want."

There was nothing more they could do now as a steady retreat back to their duties was the best course of action. But before they could leave, Idate finally faced them with the stare of a pleading man and made a simple request.

"Don't tell him that you found me."

::

Sometimes he wondered why humans had carved out a path to become shinobi instead of living normal, peaceful lives just as _people_ , not machines wired to spilled blood. It wasn't like he could condemn it himself. He took the same path he was currently questioning without a single question.

But as Hiruzen stared at the spot Sakura had sat before him days ago, he wondered if it was right.

"You picked such a broken soul, old friend," he sighed. "Does it really have to be her?"

Danzo stepped into the room, a grave expression dug out on his face.

"If ROOT is going to have its reputation re-imagined into something that the people can trust, then we need someone who can be believed to will usurp me. Haruno Sakura is able to deny authority while having the power and support to do so."

He took a seat next to the former Hokage.

"You've seen what she can do, Hiruzen. ROOT will be reinvented under her or it won't be reinvented at all."


	58. Eleven (3)

Gai leaned over the table, his teeth sparkling a brilliant white as he stared at his eternal rival with his utmost excitement.

"Really? You'll do it, Kakashi?!"

The other turned a page of his book without glancing at the growing sunset in front of him and replied in his usual monotonous drawl.

"Sure."

The self-proclaimed 'Sublime Green Beast of Prey' shot to his feet as tears streamed down his cheeks. He clenched his fist and held it in front of him like the gods had granted him a million blessings and he was savoring every last one of them.

"I can see your bloom! Your springtime of green grass and-"

"I'm leaving."

"-wait, wait, wait!!"

Gai placed a firm grip on his shoulder to hold him back a few more moments. He was surprised when his hand didn't meet a cloud of smoke, rather his intended target had actually decided to stick around instead of using that disappearing act he had a taste for.

Kakashi threw a look behind him.

"What?"

What? He should be the one asking that, Gai thought with a furrow in his brow. Maybe his shouldn't be so taken aback, but Kakashi had been keeping more of a presence more than ever before. Him and Obito... were they right?

Did his team change him?

Gai shook the thoughts from his head and reworked that bright smile back on his face.

"Your student that became a chuunin-Sakura, I think it was. Will she be able to participate?" he questioned. Kakashi mulled it over before he tucked his book into his back pouch.

"More than likely. You don't have to worry about that."

Gai's smile widened.

"Yosh! Then tomorrow, at dawn, our students will engage in a battle of integrity and youth for the spirit of all shinobi!"

Kakashi nearly rolled his eyes.

::

Gai heard just a few rumors about _that_ team, which was surprising in itself considering it was the Hatake Kakashi that was leading it. But, half the rumors that existed were some interestingly darker things nearly everyone failed to believe. 

First there were the ones everyone knew was fact, like that the team consisted of the Kyuubi host, a main house Uchiha, and a civilian girl who was too smart for her own good, or that in some strange series of events it was the civilian that made it to chuunin instead of the other two. 

Then there were the rumors no one else would quite take seriously unless the proof was shoved in their face: the Uchiha boy attaining the cursed mangekyou, the Kyuubi boy being protected by his peers despite them knowing who he was, the civilian acing the chuunin exams but leaving an omen behind her...

Simply unbelievable. None of it could possible be true.

Gai breathed in the cool morning air as he and his team approached training ground number seven. 

"Lee! Neji! Tenten! Are you ready to meet your opponents for this lovely day?!"

Lee tugged at the end of his white kimono shirt. The ends of his shiny black hair curled outward as a result of him completely hacking off the braid he had for the majority of his Academy days.

"They're early graduates, aren't they, Gai-sensei?" he asked worriedly. "They became genin two years ahead of schedule and have one year of experience over us."

"And won't that mean we're definitely going to lose?" Tenten added. Gai karate-chopped the tops of both their heads, completely ignoring their cries of pain.

"Pessimism is a poison to the brain, young students!" he exclaimed. "It won't matter if you lose today, as it's only training and a chance to see what it's like to fight those more prepared than you. Today is a learning opportunity!"

He looked at the only one of his team who had yet to speak.

"What are your thoughts, Neji?"

The Hyuuga met his eyes, and Gai was intrigued to find a burning fire in a normally cynical face.

"Haruno Sakura is on this team."

"Oh, is that her full name? Then I suppose-"

"I'm the one who's going to fight her."

They entered the grounds and met with Kakashi on the side of the field. In front of him were his three students whom Gai had started to observe very carefully. Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet, toying with the kunai pouch on his right leg. He noticed the orange vest he wore had a bit of bulk to it, suggesting the weapons lined on the inside. Subtle- not enough, but a good start.

Sasuke looked a little more prepared in his black Uchiha shirt and white shorts. He was able to move more freely than his teammate, but Gai could still tell there were weapons stored somewhere on his person. Belts wrapped around his left forearm and the man could only guess that it was some type of storage.

And last, there was Sakura, the strange girl Neji was keen on defeating. She had no weapons and was dressed in a red tank top, gray pants, and a friendly smile.

He'd... _seen_ her somewhere before. He just didn't know where.

"Hello Kakashi and his wonderfully bright students!" Gai greeted with an animated shout. Naruto nearly toppled over at the sheer force of blinding white teeth and green spandex. "Are you ready?!"

"Yes, sir!" Sakura chirped. "We'll all be fighting in the springtime of youth!"

Seeing Gai caught so off guard made Kakashi cough down a laugh from the struck look on his face.

"Kakashi, my hip rival!" he cried. "Your team is bursting with the spirit of juvenescence! True beauty! You have raised them well!"

Sasuke shuddered. He never saw a grown man cry so pathetically before, and now that he did, he honestly wished he hadn't. Neji glowered at the utmost mess he called a teacher and distanced himself as much as he could. Gai wiped his tears.

"Wondrous! Are you all ready to begin?"

"Yes!" the six kids chorused. Kakashi took the lead this time and towered over them. The visiting team flinched at the dark intensity the jounin radiated. Gai definitely was one of the top definitions of 'intense', but never like this.

Tenten glanced at the other three who eagerly waited for the announcement.

Even if they knew him for over a year, weren't they intimidated too?

"Each team will be given five minutes to come up with a plan before you all will be called back and the match will begin. Kekkei-genkai is allowed. All forms of weapons are allowed. Ninjutsu and taijutsu are allowed, but genjutsu is not," he said. He scanned the six of them. "Your give minutes to convene begins now. Go."

The teams started their jog to separate ends of the field when Kakashi called out one last thing.

"Sakura."

She spun around.

"Yeah?"

Their eyes met, his conveying a set of instructions that made her laugh and shake her head.

"Whatever you say, Kakashi!"

::

"You let her call you by her first name?"

"No."

...

"Oh."

::

Lee threw a worried glanced over his shoulder. That team had a scary set of opponents with a scarier teacher to command them; Gai told them the jounin they'd meet today was the eternal rival he'd known ever since he was young, so he expected Hatake Kakashi to be just a bit like him.

That wasn't even close to the case. He was as cold and terrifying as they came.

"So what's the plan?" Tenten questioned. "Neji-san? Any ideas?" 

Two sets of eyes landed on their pseudo-leader as he grasped his chin and considered their options, limited as they were.

"... Either way, we'll lose," he decided. "That's a given. We're recent graduates with zero field experience and they've already been on C-ranks, one of them taking place in Wave Country."

Lee furrowed his brow.

"How do you know that?"

Neji remembered the tears in Hinata's eyes and the hours she spared in taking daily trips to the hospital for Sakura almost a year ago, and ignored the question.

"Haruno Sakura is the strongest on their side so I'll take her. Tenten, Uchiha Sasuke won't expect your number of weapons and you might be able to land a hit or two on him. Lee..." he trailed off. He gave his year-mate a once over before looking away dismissively. Lee's gaze dropped. "Uzumaki Naruto is impulsive. Use that."

Tenten sent him an apologetic gaze, but kept quiet.

Even so, maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad.

::

Words couldn't describe how severely they lost. When Kakashi called for the match to begin, his team made the immediate action to separate Team Gai far enough from each other so that they couldn't attend to one another's aid if they tried. Naruto created fifteen clones to cloister Lee, Sasuke drove Tenten farther backwards with fire, and Sakura waited for Neji to strike her head on because she knew that's exactly what he would do.

Lee downed three of his opponent's clones before he was crushed into a tree by two of them. Of course he was the first one defeated- and so quickly at that. All he knew was taijutsu and had absolutely no aptitude for anything else.

What a sorry excuse for a shinobi he was turning out to be.

"Uh... do you forfeit?" Naruto asked. When he saw the head of black hair bob dejectedly, he hopped over splintered pieces of wood to help Lee into a sitting position. He plopped down right beside him and took out his first aid kit. "You guys graduated like a week ago, right? You put  up a really good fight, dattebayo!"

Naruto gently grabbed his wrist and placed in onto his lap to better disinfect the cuts and bruises. Lee nearly recoiled at the sudden generosity the other was giving him. They were on opposing sides- why was he helping him?

"I-I... did I? But I lost to you in minutes, Uzumaki-san..."

"No one's gonna be good right away," he assured. He took the bandages out from the kit. "Like when we first took the Chuunin Exams. I thought I was strong enough to go to the last round, but after having my guts almost spill out I knew better. If I always have to rely on Sakura-chan, then what's gonna happen to me when I'm in real big trouble? I mean, you just got started. There's nothing to feel bad about!"

A small flame lit up in Lee's veins as he nodded.

_He didn't know someone could be so kind._

"Y-Yes!"

Meanwhile, far on the other side of the field past trees and boulders, Tenten collapsed onto her knees with her assortments of weapons scattered around her. She gasped to catch her breath, sweat caking her skin and shame clogging up her lungs. She embarrassed herself in front of one of the noble clansmen by putting up a fight that barely made him stretch his muscles.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ -

An outstretched hand entered her vision.

She jerked her head up, startled.

"You have a burn mark on your arm that needs to be treated," he said simply. "Sakura can help you."

She didn't know a lot of prestigious shinobi, but those she met always left her with a disgruntled afterthought. They constantly showed themselves off as the best of the best because they had a popular name and some fancy ability no one else did.

Tenten grasped her hand and let herself be helped up.

"Thanks," she smiled. Sasuke nodded.

When they got back to the match's starting point, Sakura was already there- unscathed and unconcerned as she checked the patchwork Naruto did on Lee.

"Not bad," she mused. "And you were the one complaining during my lessons. See? It doesn't hurt to pick up on something useful, does it?"

She pinched his whiskered cheeks until he whined and moved her attention to Lee who sat patiently on a tree stump.

"How do your bandages feel? Too loose? Too tight?"

"They're perfectly fine, Haruno-san! You and Uzumaki-san are very kind."

"Call us Sakura and Naruto. We don't bite."

Sasuke came up to her side and nudged Tenten forward. Sakura took one look at her burn before regarding her friend levelly.

"Type."

"Second degree," he answered.

"Cause."

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu."

"Treatment."

"You need to rinse the affected area with cool water until the pain lessens to prevent it from getting worse. Don't use ice cold water. When cleaning it with mild soap and water, don't break blisters, pat the area dry, then put antibiotic ointment," he said. Sasuke's reply started to lose pace as he tried to remember what else he was taught. "You... don't need to bandage it if the blisters haven't broken, but if they have, wrap is loosely so it doesn't put any pressure."

Sakura grinned. Her boys were learning so well.

She then cast to the edge of the forest and let the corners of her lips drop a bit.

::

First aid wasn't normally considered until chuunin level, but even then the practice wouldn't be applied to other people if knowledge on medicine wasn't substantial enough. That's where the medic-nin came in, to heal their teammates because they couldn't learn the far extent to do it themselves. 

It was unheard of the have a whole team of medics, and simply put, it was irrational.

"Did you give them lessons on non-chakra-based remedies?" Gai murmured. He and Kakashi stayed a decent distance away from their students to watch the battles without having to disturb them that let them talk without interruption.

"I gave clearance because Sakura was so insistent on teaching them," Kakashi said. He missed the odd look in his direction.

"You just _let_ her do what she wants?"

"I'm not the only one who'll know what's best for this team. I might as well take it from someone who's on it," he replied easily. Kakashi leapt down from his perch on a tree branch and began to make his way to the five gathered and waiting. Gai hurried after a moment, thinking of the stark difference of his rival now to his rival just a mere year ago.

No, he wouldn't let his bewilderment show right now. He'd save it for later, so he plastered his trademark grin on his face and made his infamous dynamic entry.

"Ah, a fight to learn from, was it not, young students?!" he exclaimed. "I commend your victory, Team Kakashi! It's unfortunate that Neji isn't here for our closing announcement."

Lee stood up.

"He's gone?" he questioned. "But... wasn't he fighting you, Sakura-chan?"

Naruto wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms.

"She probably pissed him off or somethin'. She likes doing that," he said. She mimicked flipping her hair over her shoulder only because she didn't have much to work with.

"Some people can't handle my charm," she joked. Sakura tossed a careless glance behind her and took a more serious note while jerking her thumb backwards at her teacher. "Like that one. You know he kicked us out of his apartment a little while ago because we decided to liven it up with decorations? So ungrateful."

Kakashi glared at her.

"Catnip. You put catnip everywhere and left my windows open."

Sasuke blinked up at him.

"You point?"

"Every stray cat on the block came to my house and left their hair over everything they could stick to," he hissed. "I assume you can't fathom the number of lint rollers I had to buy because their hairs were on everywhere they could stick."

"Yeah I do know 'cause we helped you clean it up!" Naruto protested. "Thanks for the help by the way! We come over 'cause we thought you needed some extra hands but you're all out in the balcony doing nothin'-"

"I'm allergic to cats you _little_ -"

"Like we were supposed to know you're allergic," Sasuke argued.

"No sane human being would decide to furnish an apartment with forty-two pots of catnip."

"Forty-two is the answer to the universe, life, and everything," Sakura quipped. Kakashi's glare turned nearly exasperated.

"If you're saying that to help your case, it's not, because it makes absolutely no sense and you're even more ridiculous than when I first met you."

"Hey!"

Tenten and Lee watched with incredulity and amusement mostly because the stoic hard-ass they met about an hour ago was bickering with his three eleven year old students and was slowly losing.

What a weird team.

But Gai, on the other hand, pressed his hand to his mouth as he watch the scene with wide, unbelieving eyes. This was Kakashi was was openly bantering with children. This was Kakashi with no real bite or anger in any of his words even if he was arguing- something he never did. This was Kakashi baring his emotions for the world to see when he'd never done a thing like it his whole life.

This was Kakashi with a heart more whole.

In the blink of an eye, Gai rushed forward to encase Kakashi in a bone-crushing hug as his sobs filled the air.

"My rival!" he cried. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto backpedaled away from whatever was transpiring until they were shoulder to shoulder with their former opponents. Their five expressions mirrored something similar- like a muted uneasiness at the fact that the sobbing only got louder and Gai just wasn't letting go.

Sakura leaned over to Tenten.

"You guys want to come with us to get ramen? My treat," she said. Tenten nodded.

"Sure. Anything to get away from... _this_."

Kakashi glared at their quickly retreating forms. Why was he the one suddenly getting this affection from someone he'd known for over a decade? He hadn't even done anything and now he couldn't even move his arms!

"What are you-"

"I'm so glad, Kakashi," he whispered, tears falling faster.

...

"Glad?"

Gai tightened his grip.

" _I'm so glad your team makes you this happy_."

::

"Thanks for helping out," Shikamaru sighed. "Tou-san gave me a huge list of things to do because I was able to get of them last week. Couldn't help that I got busy."

"Busy with what?"

"Taking my nap. It was only my third one that day. I needed it."

Naruto and Sakura shared knowing looks and bubbly giggles. They could never find out how a kid could be so lazy, but they wouldn't take Shikamaru any other way. Especially since they got to see Yoshino's ingenious ways of trying to get her son out of bed.

"You know I love animals!" Naruto exclaimed. He reached out to pet a large, snow white deer. It leaned into his touch. "And we get to see Yuki! Look how big he's getting! He's so cute and-- _my shirt_! It's not- you can't- manners! What did I tell ya' 'bout manners?! You can't jus' go an' bite people's shirts 'cause they called ya' cute!"

Rikumaru came up behind him and bumped him forward, sending him bumbling into Yuki's neck. He whipped around and glared at the older deer accusingly.

"You too, Riku! If you keep bein' mean I'm not gonna give ya' any berries!"

Sakura fondly shook her head. Whenever Naruto got angry, he'd pick up Mari-san's manner of speech. 

It was so cute.

She continued tending to the seals around the Nara Forest. Monthly maintenance was one of Shikamaru's tedious chores alongside checking on the deer and cleaning the stables. It was truly a sign of trust for Shikaku to allow outsiders to learn the secrets of one of Konoha's most restricted areas.

She wondered what his endgame was.

"Ne, Shikamaru. I'm going to the restroom.

"Okay. I'll..."

He looked over at the one who was currently being smothered by a pack of deer and groaned.

"... I'll make sure none of them adopt Naruto."

Sakura found her path out the forest and through the gate to the back of the Nara compound. And there, just like some sort of deja vu, was Shikaku lounging on the back porch with a cup of sake at his side.

"Ah, hello, Sakura-chan," he greeted. She smiled.

"Nara-san," she returned. "We always seem to meet out here, huh?"

His dark, calculating eyes slid over her suspiciously. Her tone lilted to a slightly higher octave, and that made him straighten in his seat. That was the voice of someone who wanted to know something.

"Seems so."

She stopped after walking up the steps and dropped her head to meet his eyes.

"When you voted to decide my future, did you take the councilman's side?" she questioned. She didn't mention a name, a time, nor alluded to anything remotely specific, but he knew exactly what she was talking about. He knew because she wasn't supposed to know-- not even have an inkling of an idea that she was being discussed for ROOT.

"It ended in a tie," he shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Ah. I guess you're right."

Sakura continued down the hallway towards the bathroom, pausing only one last time.

"It doesn't matter because I already made my decision."

::

Sasuke had split a training post with his fist a week ago. It was done in a fit of unbridled rage when his frustration got the best of him and ended with his bloodied knuckles needing to be stitched.

Shisui and Itachi were the only witnesses to the account (luckily), but seeing something so brutal coming from someone who used to be so sweet made the latter absolutely sick. His little brother was getting worse and worse and nothing he was doing would make it any better.

"Maybe it's a phase or something," Shisui tried one night after training. He sat with Itachi on the roof of the main house, watching the sunset and waiting for Sasuke to come home. "He's only eleven and the worst mission he's ever been on was the one to Wave. I mean, unless something horrible happened at the exams in Iwa, then he's probably just stressed."

Itachi exhaled softly.

"No. His anger isn't temporary.

He looked down to the darkening streets of the compound and saw Sasuke's silhouette slowly ambling down.

"It had been our fault for years."

Itachi gracefully landed on the side of the house and entered through the window, Shisui following surely but with uncharacteristic silence. Sasuke pulled open the door and stepped through the threshold with a messenger bag hanging from one shoulder.

"Welcome home, otouto."

"Hm," he answered distantly. He missed the way his older brother twisted his head as to forcibly tear his gaze away, but Sasuke didn't need to see to know he couldn't be looked at the same way as he did when he was younger.

Shisui jumped into the strained silence jovially in trying to lighten the mood.

"So how's your day been, Sasuke-chan?" he asked. "You came back kinda late. Did you have a mission or was out training?"

"I was at one of the community centers," the genin replied nonchalantly. Itachi and Shisui exchanged confused glances. Community center? That was a place where mostly troubled civilians went for all sorts of different classes, volunteer work, or something else of the sort. Shinobi always had the option to visit for themselves and join the programs, but that was a rare occasion. Civilians and shinobi were a hard mix even at the surface level and their problems could never be met eye to eye.

"What... were you doing there?"

"Taking classes."

Itachi furrowed his brow.

"Classes?"

"On anger management," Sasuke said. He opened the fridge and took out a few snacks, idly ignoring the skeptical stares that bore his way. Shisui edged forward as the youngest shut the fridge door and started up the stares.

"And what what happened?"

He didn't stop his ascent.

"Afterwards, I met a kid named Sai."

::

"So what's the deal, hm? You start a network of kids with prodigious abilities, make some weird friendships with them, and hope you'll somehow benefit from them in the future?"

"If you call one person a network, sure. I've just happened to know her for a long time."

"Long enough that she doesn't care about doing favors for missing-nin, un?"

"Damn straight."

Deidara hummed as he laid on the floor of his mountain top dojo just outside Iwagakure. That Haruno Sakura from the exams still caught his interest even if she'd long since left the country. She was an obvious asset to have and an even odder character since she was loyal to both her village and an international threat.

Sasori rolled onto his stomach from the high beam he lounged on and peered down. He let one arm dangle below him while the other pillowed his cheek from the wood.

"Why? Does it bother you that she's strong enough to kick your ass?"

The younger scoffed.

"Right. Like she'll be able to come close to kicking my ass, hm," he scoffed. He considered his own words for a few moments before his eyes widened and he muttered an afterthought. "Oh fuck. Would she?"

"Probably."

"Shit, un."

"It's nice to see the youth of today finally learning to get their heads out of their asses."

What an irritating bastard the geezer was. Deidara reached down to the pouch at his hip, pulled out a lump of non-explosive clay, and began absentmindedly molding it. Having a world-renowned puppet master on his side was one thing, but having a legal shinobi ally from a nation that's not exactly an enemy?

Sasori watched him carefully.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Say I needed help on something," Deidara began. The clay between his fingers lost their bumpiness and undertook the form of something more willowy and delicate. "What are the chances that if I ask for her help, she'll help, hm?"

"I don't know. It would probably be better if you went and asked her yourself, wouldn't it?"

It was then a brown cat flew down from the rafters and landed on Deidara's chest with a resounding _thud_. The fourteen year old shot into a sitting position and hacked an onslaught of coughs. 

"What the hell, un?!"

The feline was undeterred at the outburst and merely smiled a smile of pointed white teeth.

"Hello dear Deidara-kun, an absolute pleasure to finally meet you!" it purred. "You can call the beautiful being before your blue, blue eyes Kou-chan the Magnificent, nya!"

:: 

_The teams started their job to separate ends of the field when Kakashi called out one last thing._

_"Sakura."_

_She spun around._

_"Yeah?"_

_Their eyes met, his conveying a set of instructions that made her laugh and shake her head._

_"Whatever you say, Kakashi!"_

But Neji knew what he told her. He knew the moment she grinned in agreement, laughed, then followed Naruto and Sasuke to talk strategy. After such a humiliating loss against someone he knew he never had a chance against, he was damn well aware what that man told her just before they fought.

_'Don't show any mercy.'_

And she didn't.

Soft knocking on his door broke him away from his thinking. He called for them to enter, surprised to see Hinata standing shyly in the doorway with a tin box in her hands.

"You... Y-You came back with a lot of cuts and, um... a-and bruises..." she stammered. The tin box tilted forward and granted him the sight of a small red cross in the center. Neji grit his teeth as his mind spiraled back to the training grounds.

_Sakura blocked his tenketsu strikes with practiced ease and kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling onto the ground._

_"Hey, Neji-san. Let me ask you a few things."_

_He swept his leg out to try and knock her down, but she flipped out of the way and drove her knee into his ribs._

_"Tsk, tsk. No need to be so rude," she tutted. "I just wanted to ask a couple of things."_

_"I don't need to answer to you!" he growled. Sakura drove her knee deeper and kept both his wrists in her grip to restrict his movements and lessen his chances of escape. She leaned forward._

_"Why do you hate Hinata so much?"_

_"_ May I pl-please help you t-tend to them?"

No. The word was already engraved on his tongue, ready to strike with the precision of a cobra.

_"She did nothing to you."_

_"Stay_ out _of my business, Haruno!"_

_"Why is it she can't trust her own family? Her blood? I know you were there that day with Hiashi-sama. You saw her."_

_"Shut UP-"  
_

_"You don't hate her, but you want to! You want to hate her so bad! Why?!"_

_Neji tried to throw her off with his rotation as he got to his feet. Sakura appeared behind his form and dropped him once more._

_"Why?!"_

He looked away from his cousin and said nothing in retaliation. Hinata took that as an okay and shuffled to his side. Most the years he'd known her, he treated her like nothing more than disposable. He didn't hide his resentment for her or her side of the family, and the only thing holding him back was the brand burned onto his forehead.

He treated her horribly, yet here she was, applying salve to his bruises and cleaning his wounds.

_"Do you know what it's like to have everything ripped away from you?" Neji seethed. "Everyone that you love is gone. Your future is decided and you had no say in it. You're trapped, because fate won't let you do what you want. Do you know what that's like?"_

_He pushed himself onto his feet, swaying slightly as his back faced her._

Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if he wanted to see what her face looked like.

_"That doesn't change the fact that Hinata's the receiving end of something she didn't do," Sakura said quietly. "You might have lost your life before, but all she's ever done was try to welcome you in with open arms. She, Hanabi-san, and Hiashi-sama are your only immediate family left. I don't think you'd want to lose them too despite what you think they've done."_

_If she had more to say, he didn't give her an opportunity to say it. He walked away and Sakura didn't stop him._

A faint snap of metal made Neji look down at the decent bandaging and salve work on his injuries. Hinata got to her feet and held the kit close to her chest.

"I-I... um, I'll see you sometime and, uh, please rest!"

As she was about to take her leave, already having slid the door open, she heard what must've been a breeze rustling against the curtains- playing tricks on her- because it couldn't have been what she thought.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama."

She shut his door and paced back down the hallway.


	59. Omake VI: Truth

It... surprised Kakashi that two weeks later, there was no incident to follow up the bomb that set off in the Hokage's office. Sachiko had been in his care since then and she was the sweetest, most polite teenager he'd ever met. She insisted on doing most of the chores around the apartment to make up for the fact that he was now her official guardian and she had the greatest passion for medicine and the healing arts since...

He forcibly blinked away the memory before his heart started to hurt.

But true, things could have been going better. The only people who knew about Sachiko and visited frequently to get to know her better were Shizune and Tenten, the former telling her stories about hospital life and the latter taking her to the shop and teaching her about the weapons being sold.

Kakashi peered over his book and to the floor of his living room. Sachiko sat on the polished wood as she was swamped by his pack of summons. They'd all taken a quick liking to her and talked on and on about the most trivial things. Well, at least he didn't think she was getting lonely with the lack of people she was getting to meet.

For one, he hadn't had a decent conversation with Naruto for two whole weeks. The Nanadaime had either completely immersed himself in his work and answered in monosyllabic grunts or avoided his old teacher's company all together. Two, he couldn't even pinpoint wherever the hell Sasuke was and gave up looking for him entirely. And three, Tsunade was just unapproachable. An angry sannin was one thing, but a distraught, grieving one was even worse.

He understood where they were coming from, though. 

Tsunade had waited for Sakura to return to camp without a clue what happened. The war was _over_ , there weren't supposed to be any more deaths or tragedies or losing hope. But when Naruto came into view and she saw Sakura pale and empty- 

_Dead like Dan. Dead like Nawaki. Dead like Jiraiya._

-she stopped breathing. She vowed to never let another loved one die before their time, but she did.

She failed a lover, a brother, a friend, and a daughter.

If she ever got close to Sachiko, she'd be failing a granddaughter too.

Kakashi glanced out the window. He also accepted the basis behind Naruto and Sasuke's absences. Sachiko's words were searing in her moments, relentless and painful as she gave them every reason why they shouldn't say her mother's name. 

She looked at them through lenses that were every shade but rose and saw murderers instead of the men the rest of the world built them to be. It was an accident, they tried to tell her, because Sakura wasn't supposed to die.

She wouldn't listen, but who could blame her? She had every right to be upset with them. A parent-less child with a mother who held suicide in her arms and a father who wanted the very word 'shinobi' deserved recompense no matter the form it came in.

He turned back to his book and saw Sachiko press Pakkun's paw pads in his peripheral vision. She never got to meet neither Sakura nor Obito, yet he could see both of them in her small smile and in her softly burning eyes.

She was just like her mother but she hated the world.

Kakashi placed his book on the side table before getting up and opening the front door.

Speak of the devil, hm?

Sasuke, dressed in his gray vest and light purple shirt, stood with his chin help up like it always was. He looked over Kakashi's shoulder to catch a glimpse at the girl surrounded by eight different canines.

"May I speak with her?" he questioned lowly. The other cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," the ex-Hokage smiled. "And you know that too but you still asked. Perhaps I can pass on a message instead."

Sasuke pursed his lips.

"Fine. Tell her about the festival on Friday and ask if she wants to attend with us."

'Us' meant the spotted remains of Konoha Twelve, their teachers, and the families they'd grown to have over the years of trying to get over all they've lost during the war. Sasuke took his leave and Kakashi closed his door with a quiet click. Sachiko meeting everyone else? It didn't sound like a bad idea at all.

Except for the fact that she'd be in the same place as Naruto (if his duties allowed it) and Sasuke and he didn't know what would come from it.

When he turned, he saw her Sachiko strangely silent as she stroked the top of Bisuke's head.

"You heard."

"Yes."

Kakashi leaned back against the wall.

"So what's your answer?"

She kept her fingers running through the summon's recently conditioned fur. Her pitch black hair hung over her eyes to keep him from trying to stare into the eyes she knew looked too much like her mother's.

"Okay," she answered finally. "And I won't make another scene... I promise."

::

Maybe this was even more than just a bad idea.

Sachiko respectfully refused to wear a yukata, instead opting to wear her normal civilian clothes. She half-hid behind Kakashi as they waited for everyone to meet up on the lantern lit streets. One family arrived and she already introduced herself to them (first name only), then leading her to steal shy glances their way every now and again.

The Nara's. Shikamaru, Temari, and their eight year old son Shikadai.

_ Shikamaru was on of the Rookie Nine, close friends with Ino-pig and Chouji just like their families had been for generations. He's the lazy genius and I swear he'll the be smartest person you could ever meet in your whole life, though he can't be bothered to do much else besides cloud-watching or playing shogi. _

_ But... he's lost nearly everyone. His entire team and his father were killed in action. _

_ I'm glad he doesn't have to struggle to keep his head up. He told me recently that he's planning to propose to Temari after the war ended, and I promised him I'd be sitting in the front rows at his wedding- supporting him and cheering them on. _

_ Tell him... I'm sorry I lied. I couldn't bring myself to tell them that I knew I couldn't make it. _

Her mother knew so many people and lead a life that intertwined with every single one of them. Sachiko wilted at the thought of how happy Sakura could've been if she didn't give up and give in.

"Hey! Hope you guys didn't wait long!"

Tenten approached them with a wave and was dressed in a white and pink kimono, the seams embroidered a rich red color. She delivered an even wider and more cheerful grin to the teen- one to which Sachiko returned shyly despite knowing the weapons master quite well. But the girl tilted her head slightly at the stranger by Tenten's side.

He hadn't donned festival wear like most of those already here and wore a long fern-green trench coat with two bug resembling buttons on each side of his collar. A wide grey visor took up much of his face and completely obscured the sight of his eyes, and his black hair was long enough to be pulled up into a bun atop his head.

_ Shino was also part of the Rookie Nine alongside Hinata, Kiba, and Kurenai. Unfortunately, Kiba was the only one from their team who didn't make it out of that war. _

_ I never knew Shino that well. _

_ I wish I'd taken the time to, though. He deserved that in the very least. _

_ Maybe you can get to know him in my stead? _

"Hello," he greeted tonelessly. She quivered under the gentle intensity of his stare.

"H-Hi," she replied. "I'm Sachiko."

She could feel his curious stare through his lenses, wondering exactly who she was and what she was doing there, but eventually gave in to what she assumed was his usual silence with a grunt as settled to stand by Shikamaru.

"He's an Academy sensei. Pretty cool, hm?" Tenten whispered to her. The group engaged in idle chatter as they kept waiting for the rest of the group to come with Sachiko deciding to stay behind Kakashi and Tenten to keep out of attention's way. It was a few minutes until three more people came: a pretty woman with pale skin and pale eyes, smiling kindly as she held her son's and daughter's hands.

Her son looked older than his sister with a shocking head of blonde hair and bright blue eyes that too much resembled Naruto. He didn't dress for the occasion either and wore a simple black tracksuit with a red fire emblem on the left side of his chest. His sister, on the other hand, had on an adorable lavender kimono.

"Hello, everyone," their mother greeted softly. "Naruto said he'll make it, but sometime later once he's done with his work."

Her eyes moved to Sachiko, who'd taken to partially hiding behind Kakashi.

The girl nearly squeaked.

"Oh. Who's this?"

"This is Sachiko," Kakashi answered when the aforementioned made no move to do so. He could sense a thrum of anxiety run through her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's staying with me."

If it were possible, the woman's smile turned even kinder.

"Nice to meet you, Sachiko-san. I'm Uzumaki Hinata, and this is Boruto and Himawari."

_Hinata._

_ Hinata had been in love with Naruto for as long as I could remember. Since the Academy, even if she was too shy to show it. _

_ I might not have paid too much attention to it back then, but I'd be an idiot if I said I didn't see it now. She grew so much over the years. And even though she's not the Hyuuga Clan Head and even though the deaths of Neji and Kiba hit too close to home, she persevered. _

_ She would not give up no matter what. _

_ She would always be a pillar of strength for him-- Naruto. Never once did she doubt him, never once did she give up, never once did she decide Naruto would never be good enough. She loves him wholly and unconditionally. _

_ They'll be so happy together. _

"Ni-Nice to meet you too," Sachiko replied with a smile of her own. She caught Boruto staring at her and gave him a small wave and he quickly turned his head away from her, pink dusting his cheeks.

Huh?

Next came Sarutobi Kurenai and Sarutobi Mirai, the former's twenty year old daughter. They were springy and bright and Kakashi had been the one to introduce them only a few days after her coming to Konoha. Mirai was a body guard when Kakashi was Hokage and Kurenai was a close friend of his, so he insisted they meet each other.

_ Kurenai-sensei's husband was killed before the war started. Remember what I told you about Asuma-sensei? He was Shikamaru's mentor and got him in that damned smoking habit I always bugged him about. _

_ He lost a battle against an Akatsuki member. Hidan, if I remember correctly. _

_ And because of that Mirai never got to meet her father. _

"Hey, Sachiko-chan," Mirai grinned. "What's up?"

She ruffled Sachiko's short black hair, and the younger didn't mind.

Not five minutes later, two more people came. Sachiko instantly recognized them only because they were introduced to each other about a week ago. She was with Shizune when they came in for an appointment and she saw the fans again. . She knew now that those fans belonged to the Uchiha household and were Sasuke's immediate family.

Uchiha Karin and Uchiha Sarana.

' _Sarana-san doesn't really look like a Sarana_ ,' Sachiko thought after their first meeting. She had nothing against the eight year old, but the name sounded a little odd to her-- like it should've been something else.

"Hi, Sachiko!" Sarana exclaimed. "I'm glad you came!"

"Good evening, Sarana-san, Uchiha-san."

Kakashi clapped his hands together as he observed the group that came together. If Sasuke wasn't here, that meant he was on a last-minute mission and probably wouldn't be back for some time. But that was no issue. If both him and Naruto had yet to arrive, that meant less tension between them and Sachiko.

"Maa, now that everyone's here, shall we head out?"

As they group began their walk to the heart of the festival, Sarana approached Sachiko, gripped her upper arm, and tugged the teen down to her level so she could whisper in her ear.

"Tou-san told me that we're related, you know? Well, tou-san doesn't have any siblings or any other cousins, so you must be a distant relative, huh! That's okay. We're not a big clan so we need to stick together!"

Sachiko immediately realized something was wrong with the younger girl's thinking. First, she didn't know why Sasuke even bothered to tell her when something like her parentage was kept under wraps. Second, that sort of thinking just didn't make sense to her. No siblings? Not a big clan? 

She scooted closer to Kakashi when Sarana focused her attention to something Himawari started saying and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Sarana-san doesn't know about Uchiha Itachi?" she questioned lowly. He grasped her shoulder to hold themselves further back from the group.

"How do you know that name? Did _she_ -"

" _She_ told me everything she knew, Hatake-san," she said. "Uchiha Itachi killed his clan because they were planning a coup. I know she's so young and maybe she's not old enough to know what happened... I mean, I've only been here for two weeks and I don't know much about what's going on, but there's no more Uchiha compound and nearly everything about the Uchiha isn't there. I-I tried finding some things about Uchiha Obito too and... and-- where _is_ it?"

Sakura must've spared no detail. But why would she, though, Kakashi asked himself as he rubbed the bottom half of his face. She bore the last essences of her life in that letter she wrote to her daughter so it would do her no good if she told anything but her whole truth. Sachiko wasn't a shinobi, and by the looks of it, she would never be. Yet every single thing she knew posed too much of a danger.

"That information had never been released to the public and won't ever be unless Sasuke gives his approval. Which he won't. Tell Konoha the truth about Itachi, the whole clan loses face. Leave what the people know, it's a tragedy and there's only one bad egg in the batch. Itachi didn't tell his secret because he didn't want the rest of the world to know," he muttered. "And your father... we keep him where no one can find out about him. It's something we never talk about. The generations after your mother's don't know anything about them, so try not to mention it, okay? I'll tell you one day. I promise."

Sachiko bobbed her head and let Kakashi lead them back to the group like they'd never left in the first place. A delicate frown took her lips despite the festivities and laughs all around her. That wasn't fair to Itachi, wasn't it? That he'd always be thought of for the horrible crime he committed instead of the loyal, selfless intent he had behind it.

Being remembered for all the wrong things.

It seemed to be a recurring theme for the dead.

The large group passed the entrance to the memorial which had been lit up with hundreds of colored lanterns, each having a name painted down the side. If she looked, maybe she could find the one with _Haruno Sakura_ on it.

"Hatake-san..."

He gave her a single pat on the head.

"Go on. I'll tell them you got interested in the preparations and decided to stay a while," he smiled. Sachiko sent him a wobbly 'thank you' and turned down the path to the Bronze Leaf. Kakashi's reassuring eye crinkle lessened into something more wistful as he stared after her.

"Yeah," he murmured. "I wish it didn't have to be this way either."

::

Her mother's lantern must be light pink. To match her hair. Or green for her eyes. But it could've also been red because she liked wearing it all the time. Though maybe there was someone somewhere out there that remember that her actual favorite was yellow because it was the color of the sun and the stars and that they were in a place she wanted to visit, but could never reach no matter how hard she tried.

Sachiko paused her search once she was in front of the war monument. Absentmindedly, he hand raised and she ran her fingers over the name that would be forever engraved on her heart. One she would never know and never forget- crying over every letter but never knowing how to love it when it was put together.

Naruto, Sasuke, and everyone else...

_ Please don't hate them, Sachiko. _

She grit her teeth, one of the last few paragraphs of her mother's letter surfacing in her mind.

"Why, kaa-san? Why are you protecting them? They did nothing for you!"

_ I did nothing for them. Naruto got stronger so he could bring Sasuke back. Sasuke got stronger so he could avenge his clan. I got stronger too, but it wasn't for them. _

"What's wrong with wanting to get stronger for yourself?" Sachiko cried at the memorial. "It didn't have to be for anyone else"

_ It was because I was selfish. _

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to get better just for you!"

_ Please. Don't hate them. _

"They killed you!"

_ I was already dead when they killed me. _

"They... _they_..."

_ Please, please don't hate them. The did nothing wrong. _

Sachiko sunk down onto her knees. Her face was blank and her cheeks were plastered with the fresh set of tears that poured down her face.

"I... wish you would've chosen to stay," she said. "Did you know I would've loved you so much, mama? I would've loved you so much that you would've forgotten what it was like to hate yourself. You always wrote how much you already loved me..."

Her bottom lip trembled as she let go another onslaught of tears.

"Did you know th-that you never gave m-me the chance to get to love you-you back?"

In the distance, not too far away but not close enough for her to notice, was Naruto. Ink was smeared on one of his whiskered cheeks and there were some splatters on each of his fingers from him trying to finish writing the fallen names on individual lanterns: a tradition he pinked up a long time ago. 

In his hand was the very last lantern he made that day, bright yellow and glowing with small cherry blossoms he tried drawing near the top.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as he watched Sachiko cry and place her head near her mother's etching. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..."

He hoped his own tears wouldn't wash away the ink on Sakura's lantern.

::

_To be continued in Omake VII: Ghost_


	60. Eleven (4)

**_A/N: This is part 4/6 of the "Eleven" chapters._ **

::

"I... what?"

Kou stuffed his mouth full of sashimi with satisfied purr despite the incredulous look Sakura was giving him. He lay perfectly content on the smooth granite counter in her kitchen, face full of fish and his tail carefully flickering around the potted cactus beside him.

"You don't have to do too much, nya. Nekobaa-sama says she needs something done. She knows about your situation too, but she never meddles with human affairs, so you're fine. Anyway, you know Nekomata, right? Ruler of the cat underworld?"

She rubbed her neck.

"Before, we went on a mission to get his print for the Paw Encyclopedia. After _that_ defection, yeah, so I know what he's capable of," she said. The whole ordeal was a bit fuzzy, but she clearly remembered those white ears they all had to wear. Kou flopped onto his side and yawned.

"Well, there's some diplomatic dispute that needs to be solved. Don't know what it's about, human and summon relations or something, but you were requested specifically," he explained. "You get it, nya? You have this job because you were able to gain at least one ally in three different nations. Kiri, Suna, and... what was that last one again?"

Sakura fished a letter from the inside of her gray uniform jacket. She'd received it from Kou just a few days ago, surprisingly, and re-read the name of the sender with careful interest.

"Iwa. In the form of a jounin who recently took on the role of a sensei."

That brought a bit of attention she wasn't expecting on giving. Deidara was more of Sasori's responsibility to keep away from what he could become. It worked so far and she noticed no sign of him turning into an S-class terrorist, but she didn't think he'd come to her with his proposition.

\--

_ I need something from Sunagakure- a chakra enhancer to fuse with my clay. Goes by the name 'Red Dust'. It's illegal in ten different countries, mine included. My old sensei knows I want it and has me on lockdown the next three weeks. I need it in two. _

_ Help me and I'll help you. _

**~Sculptor**

\--

He was lucky she had that specific enhancer in stock from the last time she visited Gaara and stayed for about a week. Kou was sent off with it the minute she received a missive and only a few hours ago she received his thanks and a complete list of his contact information.

On hand, she had a good number of people she could turn to for outside help: Sasori, Hidan, Gaara, Mei, Zabuza, Haku, Yagura, Deidara, and to some extent, Kisame... And if she adder her Konoha web, it would include Ibiki, Genma, Anko, Hiashi, and Danzo. Not to mention her friends and the other clan heads.

Not a bad network. But one that could possibly get her killed.

Sakura tucked the letter back inside her uniform just as Ibiki entered the kitchen. He grabbed the orange juice from the fridge, a bowl and his box of cereal from one of the normal cabinets (as minimal as they were), and only stopped when his usual counter space was intruded by a fluff of brown fur.

He looked at his student.

"You got a cat?"

"Not really. He wants me to feed him and no matter how much fish I give, he keeps whining for more."

Kou smacked her with his tail.

" _Excuse me_ , after traveling near and far all the lovely duties you've bestowed upon these sleek, beautiful shoulders-"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Ibiki blinked.

"-I think I deserve more than enough fish as payment, thank you very much!" he sniffed. Ibiki set down his bowl and cornflakes and his juice on the far unoccupied part of the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He mulled a thought over in his head as he stared at Kou, then at his ward.

"I'm guessing you've had a summons for a long time."

"You'd be guessing correctly, old man."

He narrowed his eyes.

"And just how much trouble have you been getting into with this?"

"Nothing you can prove," she chirped. His hand raised and rubbed at his eyes before he poured himself his juice and cereal. Sakura leaned towards him.

"Not going to say anything?"

"You know you won't listen anyways, and I know the law means nothing to you, so I'm going to hold you to the idea that you're not doing anything inherently bad," he said. He shoved a spoonful of cornflakes into his mouth and muttered a displeasing afterthought. "Damn, I'm starting to sound like Shiranui."

Sakura laughed and scratched Kou's chin.

"Maybe you just need to admit that I'm a good influence on you."

He scoffed but couldn't keep the growing smile off his face. They stayed in that quiet for a while longer, Ibiki contently eating his cereal and Sakura idly smoothing down the fur Kou bragged about having recently brushed.

"Hey old man, I'm going to take the day off today. I need to cash in a favor for the ninneko," she told him honestly. The cat's tail swished curiously. "I don't really know how long I'll be gone. If I'm not back by tomorrow, can you tell Kakashi for me?"

He shrugged.

"Sure. Don't do anything stupid."

"Me?" she gasped. "I would _never_."

She slid off the stood and allowed Kou to creep up her arm to poise himself on her shoulders. She walked to the door and sat on the genkan, easily slipping on her sandals and adjusting her wrist blades.

"Don't get arrested," a call echoed from behind her.

"Wouldn't dream of it. See you later, old man!" Sakura bid. She didn't even take a step out the door. Instead, her fingers curled into a familiar hand sign as she and her summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

It was only then did Ibiki set down his spoon and stare at the spot where she once was. His eyes grew a bit more wearier. When he took her in, he should've known getting attached was inevitable.

He shouldn't have done it, but he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision to take her in.

Ibiki sighed and pulled out a folder he'd hidden in the lining of his trench coat. It was old and bore the red 'CLASSIFIED' stamp. As he opened it and laid it gently on the granite counter, his attention went from Sakura's ID photo to her general information. 

Birthdate: 

_**March 28, XX** _

Gender:

_**Female** _

Age: 

_**11** _

Height: 

_**139.7 cm (4'7")** _

Weight: 

_**41.2 kg (91 lbs)** _

Blood Type:

_**O** _

Occupation: 

_**Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force Associate** _

_ **ROOT Operative (pending)** _

Team:

_**Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force** _

_**Team Seven** _

**_International Relations_ **

**_ ROOT Elite (pending) _ **

Ibiki rubbed his eyes, a hopeless feeling settling in the pit of his stomach at the new additions to Sakura's file. No one consulted him. No one told him-- no one even _knew_. He had only been able to see the changes from the chance of him having to check and see if her medical records were up to date.

"Stay safe," he muttered to the empty house.

::

Kou, draped over Sakura's shoulder, bounced slightly with every step his summoner took as they made their way to Nekobaa-sama's shop. She was the sole provider of the Uchiha Clan's weapons and stayed with her granddaughter in an abandoned city some kilometers away from Konoha.

"Do you think Nekomata knows about me?"

"Think? The entire ninneko underground has heard your name at least once, nya," he informed. "It's not everyday someone comes from a possible future to try and change things."

Fair enough, Sakura supposed. Summons were separate entities from humans, and even if they practiced the same art, they abided under different rules. She approached the only building swimming with cats and knocked twice before letting herself in.

"Ah, it's Haruno-chan!" Denka, a mostly tan cat with the fluffiest tail, purred. "It's nice that you're early. Nekobaa appreciates that-- right, Nekobaa?"

The elderly woman who stood polishing a collection of kunai in one corner of the shop smiled, a pair of black cat hears resting on her gray hair.

"Yes, yes. Now come over here, Haruno-chan. Let this old woman get a good look at you."

Sakura easily complied, but was not prepared for the bony hand that reached up to grab her face. Her cheeks were pushed together slightly as her head was turned this way and that, Nekobaa observing her with a scrutinizing eye.

"... You're so, so young for a burden like that...."

"Um? Nekobaa-sama?"

"Ah, but never-mind that now," the woman waved off as she withdrew her hand. "Like as was mentioned before, I do like that you're here early. It'll give you enough time to meet your teammates for the mission."

Sakura shared a startled look with Kou.

"Teammates?" she echoed. "I didn't think I'd have any teammates for a mission where me technically not being from 'here' was a well-known fact. No offense intended, but my circumstance..."

"Will be concealed, I assure you. This mission requires at least three human representatives. Though I do hope you know which clan the ninneko are particularly attached to, Haruno-chan. It might give you a few moments to prepare yourself," Nekobaa smiled. Sakura resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose as she felt two chakra signatures steadily approaching her location.

"Baa-sama!" a voice exclaimed. The shop door swung open. "Sorry we're late. 'tachi-chan wanted to check out-"

It stopped when the owner of such a jovial tone stepped through the threshold. Unruly black hair, bright eyes, and a skip in his step... Sakura bit the inside of her cheek when she recognized him.

"Hi!" Shisui greeted. "Sorry, did we intrude on something? I swear I didn't notice another person in here..."

Itachi entered shortly after and once seeing the familiar face, cast the girl a strange look.

"Sakura-san?"

"Hey, Itachi-san," she sighed. "Fancy meeting you here, huh?"

::

Shisui peered at her curiously, taking in her gray uniform, bandaged arms, and shock of pink hair styled in a messy pixie cut. Cute kid, looked way too serious for her own good, and definitely not an Uchiha so there was really no reason for her to be here. 

"Sakura-san?"

"Hey, Itachi-san," she sighed. "Fancy meeting you here, huh?"

Sakura? Haruno Sakura? Wasn't that the name of the kid that aced the Iwa exam and came back being the youngest competitor promoted to chuunin that event? Word spread about her quickly enough the moment she set foot back in Konoha. Ten years old and a chuunin-- nothing record breaking, but people in the village had already known her far before she made her first official debut in the public eye.

Sasuke talked a lot about her and another boy named Naruto.

It was only natural that he grew incredibly interested about those two.

"Likewise," Itachi replied thoughtfully. "What brings you here?"

Hina, a light-colored cat with dark marks on her cheeks, dropped down from whatever perch she rested on an landed on a box beside Shisui.

"Didn't you know, Itachi-chan? Haruno-chan's here on _request_. Isn't that neat, nya?"

Sakura's jaw ticked as she cast the feline an annoyed glance, one that didn't go unnoticed by either ANBU member. Cats were known for their mischievous, if not regal, nature that brought on conflict if it hadn't already diffused it. But Shisui found something particularly wrong with the whole situation in general. And he was sure he wasn't the only one.

A request. For a chuunin who had no prominent shinobi background.

"Who requested her?" Itachi intoned in his usual quiet voice.

"Doesn't really matter, does it?" Sakura shrugged. "We just need to go on this mission, finish it, then go our separate ways. No use in worrying about it."

Nekobaa smiled.

"Haruno-chan has a point. If you three don't hurry to Nekomata's den, he'll take offense to your lateness. I suggest the three of you get going."

Just as they were about to leave and just as Shisui was about to bombard Sakura with his genuine interest, Nekobaa snapped her fingers as if remembering something.

"Ah, that's right! You'll need these in order to get past security and understand their language."

Sakura's eye twitched when three cat-ear headbands were practically shoved in her face. Itachi withheld a cringe. Shisui positively fawned over them.

"These are _adorable_!"

::

It wasn't that Rasa was a bad person, it was just... he was unavailable most of the time. Without Karura to be his anchor and with his duties as Kazekage as demanding as they were, he couldn't cut time from his day to be a good father to his three children. And because of that, Temari snatched the reins from his hands and made herself the leader the household needed.

To his knowledge, the house he rarely returned to was empty and quiet. His children didn't speak to each other often and, as Yashamaru had described it, there was a sort of cold ambiance around the house that he thought was better left undisturbed.

Imagine his surprise when he returned home to pick up a few documents and saw that all three of his kids were bunched up on one of the couches practically squished against each other. In their hands was dinner Kankuro probably made, and in front of them was a movie he heard had become quite popular with the younger generations.

"This movie's stupid," Temari huffed.

" _Stupid_? How can you call something like this _stupid_?!" Kankuro gaped. He twisted to the right and planted his firm attention on the smallest of their trio. "Gaara! What do you think?"

The red-haired boy extended a sliver of sand to pick up his cup from the low table, and the Kazekage was thoroughly surprised when the other two didn't react as they normally would have.

"It's not bad," he responded softly. Kankuro made a rude gesture to his older sister.

"Two against one, you lose!"

"Shut up, ugly!"

Rasa retreated from the scene with a knot in his brow. For as long as he knew, that boy cloistered himself in his room because the word 'monster' had practically branded itself on his skin, causing him to be virtually unapproachable to anyone else around his age. But Shukaku had not run rampant for years. When had it all changed?

He entered his study and perused through his private collection of scrolls. Everything must have started from when he assigned Yashamaru on that suicide mission. He was supposed to die that day, but instead had been saved by the very person he'd been assigned to kill.

No one could have predicted such an outcome. And no one could've predicted--

Rasa paused his searching when he felt a presence by the door. He turned.

\--predicted _this_.

"Is there something you need, Gaara?"

Gaara stood by the frame of the door, holding his own in a way that didn't take up more space than was needed. His pastel green eyes had glued themselves to the wooden floor that had been polished just a few hours prior. Rasa could see some of himself in the eleven year old's blank sheet of a face, sad and alone... Just the mere thought of it made the corner of his lips sink.

"I know you don't like me, tou-sama," he murmured. "But believe me when I saw that I'm not going to hurt Temari or Kankuro. I would never do that to them."

The Kazekage lifted a thin eyebrow.   

"Why do you feel the need to tell me this?"

Finally, his eyes lifted, and his father's eyes went wide.

" _Please don't take me away from them._ "

::

Traveling to Nekomata's hideout wasn't bad, really. Hina and Denka were wonderful guides, Itachi was as polite as ever, and Shisui...

"Sakura-chaaaaan! Mou, let's spar! I wanna see what you did to impress Iwagakure!"

"No thanks."

"Come on, there's no harm in that, ne? Ne? Or you can tell me about yourself. Ah, but that means I'll have to tell you about myself too! There was this one time when I was five and my aniki said--"

It's like the sound never ended. Just constant babble and babble and babble with no off switch and it was starting to give her a headache. It wasn't the endearing kind of talk that Naruto had a tendency towards, but it was more an intentional annoyance. Like he was doing it to get a rile out of everyone present.

Sakura shot a look at him, unamused.

"Shisui-san."

"-and I, hm? Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Did you happen to hoard a recessive gene that makes you talk twenty times more than the average Uchiha? Because it sounds like you did."

Denka cackled contently to himself as Shisui's face stilled at her words. Suddenly, he pounced on Itachi and latched onto his arm as his eyes sparkled giddily.

"Itachi-chan, Itachi-chan, did you hear that? Sakura-chan just insulted me and it was so _cute_!"

This man was a menace, but it made Sakura bark out a laugh in spite of herself. Shisui grinned.

It wasn't long until they arrived at a high vantage point about a kilometer off from Nekomata's compound. The skies were darkening and the complex had lit up with the soft glow of torches. Sakura felt a pang of nostalgia with the pressure of a band on top of her head and the view of the ninneko's hideout just within her reach.

"This matter is behind closed doors, so only a handful of cats know about it, nya," Hina explained. "They'll let you in through the front entrance and escort you up if you tell them Nekobaa-sama sent you. This is where you'll set off on your own. Take care!"

The three of them were left alone. Sakura hummed and tilted her head to the side. Shisui and Itachi weren't bad company, but it wasn't the same without Kou when it clearly related to him too. Unfortunately, Itachi would've recognized him in an instant and it would bring a conflict she really didn't need at the moment.

"Hey, Sakura-chan."

"Hm?"

"How good are your diplomacy skills?" Shisui questioned. "Just in case we need something to fall back on."

She rubbed her neck.

"Eh, I wouldn't say they're too bad. I went on a mission to help the Daimyou of Tea Country and to Kirigakure because the Mizukage requested a specific team," she said. He betrayed a look of surprise as he peered at her closely.

"Specific team? Are chuunin even allowed to do stuff like that?"

Itachi entered the conversation in the first time in a long while, his own intrigue seeping into his words as he tried to better understand one of the people his beloved little brother held so dear.

"Is it from your part as a T&I associate?"

"Yup. I went with Genma and the old man."

Shisui openly gawked at her. He didn't know she was one of T&I's associates-- a.k.a. those shinobi who were so screw loose that they were shoved into the most infamous and unpopular department to have _some_ control on their less than desired tendencies. Those under sixteen years old were never recruited; one, because it was unethical on several different levels and two, because prodigies were assigned to more important parts of Konoha's system like ANBU or special forces.

"H... How old are you again?

"Eleven," Sakura smiled, just a bit sad when doing so. "But I've been a part of T&I under Ibiki, Genma, and Anko since I was eight. Unofficially since I was six."

Shisui grew pale and kept quiet the rest of their short journey to the front of the compound. Two cat guards stood by the door, decked in armor and holding spears. They narrowed their bright yellow eyes at the newcomers that graced their path, strangely lingering on Sakura's form a little longer.

"State your business," one of them demanded. Itachi leveled them with a level stare.

"Nekobaa-sama sent us," he replied. The guards exchanged glances before the leftmost one jerked his head to motion them to follow.

"The girl comes with me first," the guard said, surprising the three of them as they stepped into the plaza. "The other two... Uchiha, right? Wait here until I come get you, understood?"

He had Itachi and Shisui stand on their own by several seats in the guest center before leading Sakura onward. While Shisui pursed his lips in confusion and tried to figure out what to make of the current situation, Itachi tried to catch a glimpse at Sakura's face- if she was scared or surprised or anything of the sort.

But all he saw was nonchalance.

::

Sakura was led down a dimly lit corridor.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are Haruno Sakura, correct?" the guard asked without turning around.

"Yes."

"Good. Nekomata-san has wanted to speak with you since learning of your... 'nature', so please be prepared for any questions he may ask of you."

She should've expected something like this. There was no mission or request or relation discussion between humans and cat summons, but instead it was some ploy Nekomata thought up as an excuse to bring her here. If it had been something diplomatic, then there was no reason for her to be separated from the Uchiha unless there was something to hide.  

The guard stopped at the only door this particular hallway had to offer and opened it with the slight bow of his head.

"Take care, Haruno-san."

She walked up the stairs, and the door shut behind her. 

Darkness enveloped her immediately and it took most of her control not to ready her wrist blades along with the loss of one of her senses. A cold chill crawled up her arms as she let one foot fall ahead of herself, the resounding smack letting her know she room was built of strong stone.

"You are smaller than I imagined."

Movement to her left. Then behind her. She didn't move.

"Smaller?"

"I know you've come back in time, but I didn't think time would put its future in the hands of someone that looks so young," the deep voice hummed. "Baby-faced and unassuming. But maybe that's good, because the attention you've garnered for yourself seems to be from the unlikeliest of people. Have you ever met me before? I'm curious."

Sakura lips quirked at the memory.

"When I was really twelve, my team and I were assigned to get your paw stamp. Sasuke ended up succeeding."

There was a scoff as she squinted at the sudden appearance of a soft light. Two blue flames erupted into existence atop four pillars, two on either side of the path leading Nekomata's resting place. His enormous silhouette could be seen behind the blinds that hung before him.

"Sasuke? That energetic slip of Uchiha Itachi's brother? The lengths my pride had to go through in your time," he sighed. The blinds drew back and Sakura was able to gain full view of the scarred white cat that kept vaguely in her memory. "Now pleasantries aside... Haruno Sakura, do you know why I wanted your audience?"

She crossed her arms.

"You're concerned?"

"Partially. But I do want to know your plans for the Uchiha since us ninneko are so closely tied to them. You could say it's an obligation towards their loyalty."

Sakura frowned to herself. Because she never knew Sasuke well enough to understand how his clan work, most of her Uchiha knowledge came from books or the first hand experiences she received from her new life. She didn't think too much of past history with Nekobaa and Nekomata, and that was probably her own fault for not thinking to keeping the details for future reference.

She never expected cat summons to play such an integral part in the clan's politics and motivations. She probably should've consulted them before coming up with her own.

"I want to make Itachi the Rokudaime Hokage one day," she answered honestly. One of Nekomata's ears twitched and his teeth shone like she'd just told him the most amusing joke of the day, but the dead serious look on her face made his expression drop quickly enough.

"That's certainly... _ambitious_ , wouldn't you say?"

"If I'm not mistaken, ever since the Nidaime Hokage came into power, the Uchiha have been isolated and ostracized because they'd always been looked at as the enemy of the Senju. It didn't matter what Hashirama told his younger brother, because once Tobirama became Hokage, he moved them out of the village and into the compound they reside in today."

She searched Nekomata's eyes for a moment before continuing.

"You could imagine how that makes the Uchiha feel after all these years, being pushed aside like this. They haven't done anything in retaliation, but that doesn't mean they won't. They planned a coup in my old timeline and they were killed because of it," she informed quietly. The large cat shifted as his ears perked up further. "But something can be done to make sure it doesn't happen again. If you put Itachi in a higher position, we can start the re-integration of the Uchiha."

She gestured vaguely behind her.

"Itachi's in ANBU instead of the Police Force. He loves his village more than his clan, but he loves his brother more than his village. He'll be the middle ground-- especially with his fairness and pacifistic nature."

Nekomata dropped his chin on top of his paw. He stared at the girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. He wondered how many people could be put in her place would have given up by now.

"What makes you so sure you'll succeed?" he asked. Sakura crossed her arms and lifted her gaze in challenge.

"I'll find a way to make it happen," she said. "And I'll start once I'm officially appointed as Danzo's successor to ROOT."

He stared her down for a long while, trying to pick apart any lie she could've piled onto herself in attempt to mask any ulterior motives. Death must have been unnecessarily kind to her to let her keep such determination and drive instead of taking away everything she stood for.

"If you do make it possible, are you willing to deal with the backlash that comes with it?"

She shrugged.

"Can't be worse than a world war, so I think I'll manage."

Nekomata narrowed his eyes slightly. No, he was wrong. There was nothing Death had done to spare her. She talked about her own past in passing and spoke with the words of someone who was willing to give anything for what they wanted. Haruno Sakura might have been willing to make the change the world wanted to see, but at what cost?

What did she do to deserve this?

"I'll approve of your plan, only because I'm intrigued to see how you can fix a system that hasn't been changed for years. It'll certainly be fun to watch," he grinned. _What will happen to you in the process? What are you willing to give up now? Will you die once again? Do you even want to see what your future will hold?_ "I'll gamble on you, Haruno. Don't make me regret that decision."

He called for someone, and the same guard that escorted Sakura in came to lead her back. But just before he could lead her out, she paused and glanced over her shoulder.

"Could I ask one more thing of you?"

The large cat lifted his brow and waited.

"If you hear about any strange occurrences or about any action from a shinobi named Nagato, please tell me. Even if it's small, like him being spotted somewhere," she said. Nekomata inclined his head at the odd request for a name he'd never heard before and nodded once.

"As you wish."

::

Suspicion was like second nature to shinobi, and it was never really quenched until it was proven worthwhile or not. Itachi couldn't stop the burning wariness that arose when the guard returned without the little chuunin at his side.

"Is Sakura-chan still with Nekomata-san?" Shisui questioned. The guard shook his head.

"She'll wait outside the meeting room until your discussion is over."

A frown surfaced on Itachi's face and made something uneasy seep into his bones. Nothing was adding up and nothing was making the tiniest bit of sense. All things considered, Sakura was an outsider with no clan blood to present for herself. For her, a civilian prodigy, to be so deeply involved in something that shouldn't have concerned her was unheard of. If she was as special as he was beginning to speculate, then he was genuinely surprised that he had no knowledge of ROOT expressing their own interest in her.

Actually, he was even more surprised at his own lack of his own awareness of any of her capabilities. Sasuke mentioned how strong she was on multiple occasions, but hadn't necessarily explained just what was so strong about her. She had to be better than average to be able to survive the injuries she sustained during that mission to Wave and had to have been able to do something so rattling that even Hatake Kakashi suspended her for "insubordination".

He couldn't imagine what context "insubordination" could be used in a genin team like that, but he remembered it clearly because he'd never seen Sasuke so upset.

Itachi barely noticed attending Nekomata's presence as his mind drifted on to cull and collect the minutiae of Haruno Sakura he didn't care to pay attention to before. Why _hadn't_ ROOT recruited her? They normally picked their shinobi from promising six and seven year olds and trained them in secret, away from their families and prying eyes to encourage the environment of distant emotional connection. There were specific qualities every operative slot into, so he supposed that was the reason why Sakura was in the normal ranks.

She didn't fit the mold.

Nekomata greeted them in his normal fashion of an overbearing grin and skimmed acknowledgement before asking them questions on the nature of summons, their purpose, and the etiquette that came with it. Shisui answered them as as accurately as he could. Itachi was barely paying attention.

Everything didn't sit right with him with the way Sakura was and the way the ninneko were treating her. He was missing something big. 

He looked up suddenly when he felt a pair of eyes boring themselves into his skin. Nekomata's almost sickly yellow eyes were smiling at him.

"What's on your mind, boy?" he purred. Itachi ignored the strange look Shisui shot him and squared his shoulders.

"What did you need Sakura-san for?"

"Nothing that concerns you as you are, I'm sure."

_'As he was'_ was an odd phrase to use, regarding how he was just in the present. He titled his head slightly and let his gaze gleam with something akin to skepticism.

"And what of who I will be?"

Nekomata's grin widened. 

"Now, that's not a question you should be asking me, is it?"

::

\--

_In Mist,_

_I guess you can say the one you're looking for is good at not wanting to be found. Based on what I know and what my contacts have discovered, we're speculating that the shinobi who ended your attacker's life isn't residing on the mainland. That's still under investigation._

_We're also almost certain we know who attacked you in the first place, but I won't disclose that information until we know their exact whereabouts._

_I'll send you an update soon._

** ~H.S. **

\--

Sakura quickly folded the paper before handing it to Kou, who trailed after them from the shadows, and watched as he disappeared. Though not much progress had gone on with the issue she'd gotten herself into just on the basis that she was a _time traveler_ , but it all couldn't go too smoothly. That'd be too easy.

"Hello again, Sakura-chan! Were you lonely without us?"

At Shisui and Itachi's steady approach, she put on her best smile and greeted them with a small wave. The guard had left her at one of the guest centers where she observed her surroundings and spoke to Kou, who'd hid behind her legs beneath the bench she was on.

"Shisui-san," she replied. She barely reacted when he threw a friendly arm over her shoulder after she stood from her seat. "I wouldn't call it lonely. They're all very hospitable."

"Hospitable, eh? I guess you talked about a lot of stuff then," he smiled. She returned the gesture, instantly realizing what he was getting at.

"I guess. But it's nothing worth mentioning."

The _'so stop trying to pry it out of me'_ undertone was clearly made, and Shisui wisely steered the conversation into something smaller and easier to talk through.

"So, Sakura-chan, how is it to be on a team with little Sasuke-chan? As he as grumpy and unsociable as always?"

"Grumpy? Absolutely. Unsociable? He's actually got a lot of friends and he's great at meeting new people," she informed. Itachi stayed a little ways behind them, part because of his less than engaging nature and part because it gave him room to observe more of Sakura now that she was physically in front of him.

One of Sasuke's best friends, yet working completely out typical Konoha shinobi tradition and custom. Her unorthodoxy was already changing the way her own generation acted with one another, and he was still trying to decipher whether that was good or not.

Itachi blinked when his eyes met with Sakura's for a second, something indistinctly plotting swimming in her irises before she turned away.

He frowned.

What was Haruno Sakura planning to do?

::

He didn't expect to cross paths with her just by happenstance. They never really had those moments when they'd accidentally bump into each other on the street or say a casual greeting as they passed each other by and that was probably for the better. She tried not to see him as much as possible, and he avoided her to make sure she felt comfortable.

Obito blinked owlishly, his hands filled with plastic grocery bags, and stared at the pink-haired girl that trembled as she looked him dead in the eye.

"Hi."

The space between his brow wrinkled.

"... Hi?"

Sakura's hands were clenched at her sides, sweat pooling into her palms and running down the side of her face. It was painfully obvious how scared she was just from how much she radiated wanting to run away. 

Obito took careful note to not make any sudden movements.

"It's nice out here," she blurted out. "It's, um... Have you been enjoying your day?"

She started shifting her weight from foot to foot and finally turned her gaze away, in turn lessening the intensity of the air around them. The only things they ever shared with each other were their Thursday therapy sessions, and after all was said and done, they'd part as if they were strangers. There were no tries towards friendship or attempts to get to know each other better despite being in each other's scarce company for a few years. He didn't want to push his luck, and he didn't mind.

He didn't want to unintentionally hurt her like that again.

"I have," he replied softly, not able to keep the gentle smile the nudged the corners of his mouth. Progress. Neither him or Inoichi had seen much of it the past three years, and they didn't think she'd fight to overcome her trauma anytime soon. "Thanks for asking. What about you? How's your day been?"

Sakura reached up to scratch her neck and unconsciously dug into her skin much harsher than she needed to.

"I... I just came back from an errand with Shisui-san and Itachi-san. Shisui-san's your brother, right?"

He nodded and worriedly wondered if her continuous scratching would case her to bleed. She flexed her fingers a few times before they curled up into a tighter ball than they had been previously.

"Can you tell him that Nekobaa-sama needs her cat ears back by next week? He didn't want to stop wearing them so, yeah, can you please tell him for me?" she asked. Obito saw how hard it was for her to stand there and talk without breaking down, and his heart melted at her effort to hold a decent conversation with him.

"Of course," he nodded. She started to shuffle backwards with her head bowed and her hands clasped behind her back to keep her tremors at bay.

"I'll go now. Have a good rest of your night, Uchiha-san."

She disappeared in a small wisp of smoke. Obito grinned at the empty space in front of him before he turned and went on his way home.

"You too, Sakura."


	61. Eleven (5)

Ibiki barely bat an eye when he walked home and saw a white board in his living room along with five small bodies invading the couches. Sakura had a marker in hand and currently pointed towards an anatomical body drawn beside the words _Poisons 101_. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, hey, old man!" Sakura greeted. "You came just in time for Friday lessons! We just started if you wanted to sit in."

"No thanks," he said. Then paused. "Did you steal that whiteboard?"

She held her hand over her heart in deep offense.

"Why do you always think I'm doing something like that? Not everything I do is illegal," she pouted. Shino adjusted his glasses from his seat to her right.

"Only most of it," he commented. Akamaru yipped in agreement, causing Kiba to bark out a laugh.

"Come on, Sak. We all know you probably took it from the Academy when Iruka-sensei wasn't looking."

Sakura snatched a pillow from beside a giggling Hinata and half-heartedly smacked him in the face. Ino cried out a " _HAH_  " in triumph from beside the heiress on the couch adjacent to the mess and pointed.

"That's karma, dog boy! You shouldn't have uprooted those flowers even after I told you not to!"

"And Iruka-sensei let me _borrow_ the whiteboard, you _doubters_. Especially you, old man! Want me to get a permit for that too?"

"Stuff it, kid," Ibiki grunted. He pulled out the papers from under his arm and set it down on the counter with his gaze lingering on the two others on the third couch. Sasuke had a sketchbook in his lap and charcoal residue smearing his fingers, his attention on whatever he was working on. 

Drawing? He couldn't really remember a time when the boy even spared a thought at the art. Next to him was a girl he vaguely recognized as one of Maito Gai's new genin-- Tenten, if he recalled correctly, who was all smiles and chuckles despite being a new addition to the group.

He caught Sakura's eye from across the way and jerked his head towards the counter. She nodded as she tossed her marker in Sasuke's direction.

"I need the respiratory system next," she said. He stood.

"Hm. Colored?"

"If you want to."

Ibiki's gaze lingered on the group for a bit longer as the idle chatter raised in volume and Sasuke started drawing a pair of lungs in a frightening amount of detail. Sakura quietly slid up to his side as she scanned the papers splayed in front of her.

"Since when did the Uchiha brat get all artsy?" he murmured.

"Since he met Sai at the community center during one of his anger management sessions," she replied, equally as quiet. "Remember Sai? Pale skin, dark hair, can speak a million words without taking a breath-"

Ibiki involuntarily twitched. Danzo's civilian grand-nephew who didn't know how to shut the hell up. Right.

"-anyway, Sai goes a lot of different places to find scenes for his 'Daily Life' portfolio he started about a year ago. When he's not in school, he hangs out at every place he can think of to sketch people's, you know, daily lives. Long story short, Sasuke got angry because Sai unintentionally insulted him, they bantered a bit, and now Sai's teaching him how to draw. I think it's a good outlet for Sasuke's anger."

The interrogator let out a low hum. He'd heard about Sasuke's infamous anger issues. His outbursts didn't happen too often and always had a good reason stacked behind them, but the confrontations always ended in some form of physical assault or the appearance of his mangekyou. The kid obviously had some unsolved issues and it was good that he was finally getting around to fixing some of them.

He glanced down at his ward.

"What about your poison's class? Don't tell me you bordered multiple legal boundaries just so you could become a teacher."

Sakura shrugged.

"It's not like keeping this knowledge to myself is going to do me any good. So, I offered it to my friends, got potential trackers to join, and now I'm training future shinobi of Konoha," she said, spreading her hands in a wide arc like she was mimicking the creation of a rainbow. Ibiki nearly snorted. "Now what did you need me for?"

He gestured to the papers and lowered his voice a bit more, just in case there were any wandering ears.

"Formalities. Hokage-sama wants to keep you under wraps until this year's Chuunin Exams at your formal introduction, so he wants you paperwork signed and ready by next week. He thinks it'll be easier. I think it'll just cause more problems."

She picked up a pen and started signing her name next to the x's.

"Everyone's going to find out eventually."

"By everyone I hope you don't mean ROOT because those _fucking_ -"

"Old man," she interrupted with a lengthy sigh. "We've been through this."

Ibiki crossed his arms and frowned.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

She signed the last sheet of paper before neatly compiling them and slipping them back in the folder where they belonged. There was a knot in her chest at the weight of her acceptance what she so openly declared to Nekomata just a couple of weeks ago.

Danzo's successor to ROOT.

The day she'd admit her willingness to take the position was the day she'd give Ibiki, Genma, _and_ Anko a heart attack.

::

It was a decent day out for Team Seven. Their training had finished but the day was still young, and they resolved to stay in each other's company for a few more hours until they all went their separate ways. Kakashi, antisocial as he always was, sat by his lonesome on a tree branch as his team sprawled out on the grass below him.

Naruto gazed up at the shining leaves overhead as he lay on his back, Sakura was nose deep in some medical text, and Sasuke had taken to practice his skills with colored pencils.

"Sakura-chan, I feel like you and sensei don't have any good hobbies," Naruto mused, squinting his eyes against the bright light. The two he called out both looked up from each of their respective books as Kakashi raised a brow.

"What?"

"Like, all you guys do is just sit there and work or whatever. Iruka told me that all shinobi should have a hobby to help with stress," he recited seriously. "He likes restoring books. I like gardening. Even Sasuke started drawing to help with his anger and he's getting really, really good, dattebayo!"

Sasuke turned his sketchbook for the group and- quite blankly- stated:

"I drew the dobe with a ramen cup body."

"Dammit, you stupid butt, just take the compliment!"

Sakura thoughtfully closed her textbook and set her chin on the binding. A hobby? She didn't have time for one of those. She had actual duties to take care of, like studying her poisons, improving her medical techniques, keeping tabs on everyone in the village, planning with Sasori and Hidan, meeting with Danzo, working at T&I, looking out for Nagato and sending missives to Yagura...

A hobby would be nice, but it required time she couldn't afford to spend.

"I don't have space for that," Kakashi stated simply, and she nodded in agreement. Naruto pouted.

"Everyone has time to relax sometimes!" he exclaimed. "Chouji and Hinata bake, Shikamaru watches clouds and play shogi, Ino arranges flowers, Shino does origami, Kiba watches movies, Tenten-san plays instruments, Lee-san works out, Neji-san meditates, bandana guy makes little wooden sculptures, Mori-"

"Alright, Naruto, I get it," Sakura cut off. "Everyone else has hobbies and we don't."

"Which means," Sasuke intervened, "that you two should find something. So you don't burn out."

Sakura and Kakashi exchanged glances.

"So... if we find a hobby that doesn't relate to work..."

"Then you'll be happier when you learn how to loosen up," Naruto finished happily. Sasuke took this moment to show the rest of his team his sketchbook once more, this time showing a picture of an animated ocean pushing Naruto off a pier.

"Remember when we were training in Wave and the dobe said he was going to fight the ocean?" the Uchiha intoned with a smirk. "Here's him losing."

He was tackled not a second later.

::

First Hobby Trial

Shikamaru had lots of chess and shogi sets at his disposal and easily lent one of the former to Sakura, telling her that she could keep it for as long as she wanted. Her and Kakashi decided to take an empty table at a nearby park to try and see if this was the hobby for them.

"Why are we doing this together?"

"Something about building our relationship." Sakura said as she set up the board. "Naruto and Sasuke think we should get along better, but I think if you just appreciate the little things I do, we'd get somewhere."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Catnip."

"You know, the day you let that go is the day you finally get that stick out your ass. You're first, by the way. Don't be upset when I beat you."

The man's fingers curled around one of his knights.

"We'll see," he said.

Five hours, two games, and no winner later, the two went their separate ways with splintered pieces of wood dumped in a nearby trash can.

They'd buy Shikamaru another board tomorrow.

Second Hobby Trial

_Whack._

It was calm on the red bridge at the lake. The sun was high, there was no wind to rustle the leaves, and it was the perfect day to fish.

_Whack._

Kakashi didn't have much of an opinion on it yet. He and Sakura had only started fishing half an hour ago and were only beginning to get the hang of the whole idea after reading a short _Fishing For Dummies_ handbook. It was relatively peaceful, at least, even if they hadn't caught anything yet.

_Whack._

His eye twitched as Sakura's fishing pole smacked the back of his head for the third time. She didn't say anything as she did it, but he could practically feel a stupid little grin crawling onto her face.

"Oh, sorry, Kakashi. My mistake," she chirped. Was this because of chess? Is that what he did to deserve her snark for today? No, that couldn't be it. She was just as insufferable every other day that he wasn't surprised anymore. Annoyed that she was a little tyrant, but unsurprised nonetheless.

_Whack._

He dropped his fishing pole, picked Sakura up, and tossed her into lake.

Third Hobby Trial

Sakura eyed the several wine bottles displayed on the shelves.

"I could-"

"No."

"Just let me try one-"

"No. You're eleven. We're not wine tasting. We're leaving."

She sighed. What she wouldn't give for some alcohol right about now.

Fourth Hobby Trial

Perhaps this wasn't exactly the... best solution to their current problem. Meditation was used to relax both the mind and the body to help achieve some higher state of inner peace. Those who tried had to let down their walls and let their thoughts flow as easily as a running stream could have everything come clear.

_Crushing. Horror. Regret._

Kakashi flinched, but tried to find that peace he'd been seeking for over ten years of his life. Maybe if he let go, he'd be happy. Maybe if he forgot, he could move on. Maybe if-

_Blood. Rin. Blood. It's all your fault._

He opened his eyes after a minute and refused to shut them again, his lips forming a bitter smile. He never let himself be so alone with his thoughts before and now he remembered why. He couldn't let go. He couldn't forget.

Once glance at Sakura, who sat cross-legged beside him with her face buried in her hands, alerted him to the fact that she fared no better in trying to let her guard down for once, and if anything, probably quit trying to meditate faster than he did.

"We should try the next hobby," Kakashi suggested quietly. She drew in a deep breath and straightened up.

"Yeah."

Sakura stood and silently trailed Kakashi out of the open clearing, her face not sparing her reaction at the sudden flood of whispers that curled in the curves of her ears.

_Fire. Sharingan. Burning. Smiles. You'll let them all down like you did to your little girl._

Fifth Hobby Trial

The moment Kakashi saw someone fold their legs under their arms and behind their head while lying flat on their back was the moment he started to walk out of the facility. Sakura grinned as she snagged his vest to keep him from going.

"Oi, Kakashi! You're not going to bend over backwards to give this a try?"

"I'm a shinobi, not a human pretzel."

"Come on, I'm sure your schedule's flexible."

He threw an irritated look down at her, his scowl practically visible beneath his mask. Sakura's grin widened.

"I mean, you might need to stretch it, but you not trying means you're saying yoga's for posers."

Kakashi's eye twitched. Her grin grew even wider.

"It's not like _yoga_ -na die, right?"

The current yoga class suddenly turned their heads towards the observation window quick enough to see a shinobi stalking away with a cackling child tucked under his arm.

Sixth Hobby Trial

Sakura lowered her medical text and stared across to the other side of the picnic table.

"I feel a bit guilty about this."

"Why?"

"Well... Naruto got us into hobby hunting because all we do is read anyways. And now we're just reading. Maybe we should try something different?"

Kakashi sighed and closed his book.

"Fine."

Seventh Hobby Trial

It was raining.

Being a citizen of Konoha meant sunshine all day, more often than not. Even during winter if there was snow, it was sunny; it just came with the package of living in a village renowned for its beautiful, green trees. But on the rare chance it rained, everyone's spring wound down and most stayed indoors to take a break.

Rainy days were quiet days, and that's what people needed every once in awhile.

Kakashi's apartment was serenely quiet, save for the slight knocks of water against the windows. The kitchen light offered a dim glow to the expanse of the living room without being too luminous, allowing a calming atmosphere to settle in the air. A plastic bag from the local craft store sat at the foot of the couch and was filled to the brim with different shades of blue yarn-- a color eventually agreed upon after minutes of arguing.

"Knitting has a lot of health benefits, apparently," Sakura commented. Sleepy eyes were trained on orange knitting needles as she slouched against a cushion. Kakashi didn't look up from his own knitting- his silver needles working just as slowly and easily as hers- and hummed.

"Like?"

His legs had stretched themselves out sometime between him reluctantly learning how to knit and him being five hours into the activity _alongside_ Sakura and not minding it at all. His feet, now, had been wedged between the back of the couch and his student's side. Normally he'd retract immediately and chalk it up to the act that he found human contact far unfavorable compared to how he was with his ninken. 

But he didn't this time. And it made him wonder.

"Like having the same effect as meditation. Once you get the hang of it, you can zone out and focus on the yarn instead of anything else. I think that's good," she said. "It also helps with symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression... I don't know if it really does that, but it's nice to try."

"We are working together on making the same blanket. Judging by the fact that this hasn't turned into us destroying the yarn or impaling each other with the needles, I think it's working."

Sakura chuckled and snuggled further into the couch. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her, his hands not stopping their weaving.

"What?"

"Did the great Hatake Kakashi just admit that he likes spending time with the bane of his existence? _While making a joke_?"

"Don't think too highly of yourself, tyrant."

"Asshole," she quipped, scrunching her face and sticking her tongue out. "Don't worry, I know Anko's first on your shit list and I'm running a close second, but I'll get that spot one day. You'll see."

She reached down into the plastic bag to get herself a darker blue, intent on creating the ombre effect coloring they agreed on. Kakashi glanced at the digital clock above his stove.

11:32 pm.

"Did Morino-san set up a curfew?" he asked.

"The old man? Nah, never. You know I never follow the rules anyway, so the less he has the less I have to break," she said. Sakura paused thoughtfully. "But he did tell me to stop leaving dead bodies in the pantry because he was tired of finding them instead of his cornflakes."

He didn't know if she was joking or not and found it better if he didn't ask. She sunk further into the couch and kept knitting as she stifled a yawn, continuing her answer as her eyes drooped down further. "Besides, I already told him I'd be going to a friend's house, so he's not worried."

Silver needles stopped millimeters away from each other. Friend? He didn't necessarily consider them to be... weren't they more acquaintances or student teacher, like they should've been this whole time? It's not like they hung out with each other, or bickered, or trained together, or talked both big and small things or-

...

God, they were friends, weren't they?

Kakashi looked up again to see Sakura had fallen asleep in the middle of completing a new row. The expression on her face was more tranquil than he'd seen it. He read in her file that she had severe troubles with sleeping, even having resorted to the use of an outlet not specified. If it wasn't specified, then he supposed it was safe to assume it was illegal.

It'd be a shame to wake her up if she was already having trouble.

So he leaned into the armrest of his couch, reached into the plastic bag, and took out a ball of lighter colored yarn.

::

"I hope you know what you're committing to when you accept this," Ibiki said. Sakura nodded once.

"Yeah. Higher pay."

She could hear Anko's useless attempts at trying to smother her laughter and saw, from her peripheral vision, Genma half-turning to stuff a fist in his mouth and keep his smile from being shown. Dan, seated at his desk, instead let out an amused smile as Shizune sighed in light fondness.

Ibiki nearly smacked the back of her head.

"Alright, alright, I'm kidding," she smiled. "But yes, I do accept the responsibilities that come with this. It just means I can continue what you assign me, but not having to find a legal reason behind it."

He really did smack her that time. And she pouted.

Dan took this as his opportunity to reach into his desk and pull out a mission scroll.

"That's good because I already have an assignment for you," the Godaime said. "Are you ready for your first official solo A-rank, Jounin Haruno Sakura?"

She smirked.

"Yes, sir!"


	62. Eleven (6)

"Shino's been kinda down lately."

Torune blinked and turned around. When he saw Haruno Sakura perched herself on the walkway railings with a carefree smile like she had every business being where she was.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned. He glanced around him to make sure no one was watching and was a little relieved to find that it was just the two of them here. "Who let you in?"

"Uh, I let me in? I've been given access to the main entrance," she replied. Incredulity started to mix in with his shock.

"Danzo-sama granted you entry to ROOT Headquarters," he reiterated. He squinted through the glasses of his face mask, trying to make sense of the situation. Torune had never seen her on or around the premises before, and if he did, he surely would've remembered. She was one of Shino's near and dear friends.

"Pretty much," she shrugged. She pressed an index finger to her lips and winked. "But don't start telling people that. The councilman is essentially the only person that knows about it. Can you keep a secret?"

"My loyalty will always align with Danzo-sama," was his immediate reply. He frowned. "But I will be asking him to make sure you're authorized to be on these grounds."

Sakura waved a hand.

"Go head. I just wanted to tell you that Shino's been kinda down lately."

Torune crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do you mean?"

"I was making origami cranes with him yesterday," she said.

_Folding small slips of patterned paper was nice, but she couldn't imagine doing it over and over on a regular basis. Though it seemed to make Shino content at each finished crane as his insects trickled out the edges of his clothing._

_"I know there's no real use in making wishes... but it doesn't hurt to try sometimes, I suppose," he said. "I head somewhere that if someone makes a thousand paper cranes they get to make wish."_

_He finished one, set it aside, and started on crane number 879._

_"Oh. And thank you for helping me. You didn't have to."_

_Sakura smiled and took another sheet of origami paper off the pile to start on crane 880._

_"It's no problem. You know that," she replied. "So what's your wish going to be?"_

_His shoulders hunched slightly and he bent his head more towards his folding, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose just enough for her to see his melancholic brown eyes crinkle at the edges._

_"It'd be nice to see Torune again."_

Torune looked to the side guiltily.  Shino was like the little brother he never hand and _of course_ he loved him like one all the same, but what could he do? His obligation to ROOT was a harsh one-- he couldn't even remember the last time he stepped foot on the Aburame compound, even for a quick visit.

"Your concern has been noted, but I have some things I should be attending to at the moment. Now, Haruno-san, if you'll excuse me-"

She hopped off the railing, interrupting him.

"I'll take your job for the day," she offered. At his startled expression, her eyes lit up. "What's with the look?"

"I can't just _give_ you classified work-"

"Why not? The councilman already knows I'm here and I'm sure he won't have a problem if I take over for one day, right?"

Torune wasn't going to lie, the idea of getting the day off to spend time was Shino sounded like a deal too good to be true. It probably was, given the suspicion that nipped at his skin. What was her angle? She wasn't a new recruit because she wasn't with the others and she wasn't an official operative because she wasn't dressed or in protocol. In fact, she might even be in uniform for a completely different sector.

"... Why are you doing this?"

"I care about Shino too, Aburame-san," she said. Shame bubbled in her throat, because even though her sentiment was true and tangible, it still wasn't her full motivation. "Let's just go see the councilman. I'm sure I can make a point for you."

She started to walk down the path to Danzo's office. Torune wasn't sure how she was familiar with the way or how she'd gotten herself tangled in the mess of village secrecy and politics, but he followed.

Then, like some prescient air that weighed in his gut, he felt that somehow... he'd be seeing much more of her in the future.

::

"In my hair again, Haruno?"

"It's a habit of mine, councilman. I'd try to stop it, but I really don't want to."

Torune was dumbfounded. It was painfully obvious that Sakura was one of the more eccentric types of people, but she either had to be incredibly bold or incredibly careless to speak to Danzo in such an easy manner. Not to mention the fact that she was nearly _twelve years old_ and she had the guts of an aged veteran.

Danzo planted his free hand on his desk and observed the two with his good eye.

"What is it that you want?" he inquired coolly, attention flickering to the girl leaning on his desk. "If I'm not mistaken, Torune has things to do and you have personal concerns nowhere near my office."

"You should give Aburame-san the day off," Sakura stated simply. The poor fourteen year old who'd done nothing but stand at attention in the background for one whole minute, blanked at the blunt words that drove into the councilman's authority like a butcher's knife through butter. Danzo raised a brow.

"As a jounin of Konoha, you're not in any place to give me orders." 

Torune shifted. He wasn't aware that Sakura made jounin.

"As a jounin of Konoha, I have every right to state my opinion," she answered, though not unkindly. "Besides, you should know fully well that listening to higher-ups isn't one of my strong suits. Now. The day off?"

"I see no point in relieving someone of their duties for one day when there are things that need to be done. This is ROOT, not a charity," he said. Sakura was undeterred.

"Well, it's my charity because I'm offering to take his place for the day. No extra pay, no recognition, no official documentation-- you know, like the stuff you normally have me do anyways. We have a deal?"

Thoughts raced through Torune's mind like an expanding wildfire. What? She'd already been working for ROOT unofficially? He wasn't one to question Danzo's decisions and he was sure it was one of those things that he should just keep his nose out of, but... but it was all so _unprecedented_ that he wanted to know more.

Something odd was happening here. This was classified information that he shouldn't be hearing, yet they were conversing like he wasn't in the room.

The man's blank face gave nothing away as he grasped the hilt of his cane and stood.

"Fine," Danzo acquiesced. He looked at the stock-still boy that poised himself at attention near the door. "You heard Haruno. Do what you wish for the remainder of the day. I expect you to report back at 0600 tomorrow to resume your duties, understood?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

Torune bowed before he turned to leave the office, only noticing that Sakura wasn't going to follow him when he was halfway out. He looked over his shoulder questioningly and she returned the gesture with a bright smile and a small wave goodbye.

He could only nod- gratefully- and left with a small _click_ of the door behind him.

Two minutes of silence passed before Danzo spoke.

"You had him cave in easier than I anticipated," he observed. Sakura sighed and plopped down into the chair in front of his desk.

"Yeah, it wasn't too hard. I just appealed to his better interests like anyone else would," she said as she rolled her neck. "And it worked. We got him both suspicious and curious, and it won't be long until he really starts wondering what I'm doing hanging around HQ like some loiterer. Is this part of your master plan?"

Danzo opened the top drawer of a file cabinet at the other end of the room and leafed through the folders.

"The operatives have to get used to you even before you're officially inducted," he explained. "It's to my knowledge you have a way of getting people to be at ease around you or you wouldn't have caught T&I's attention at such a young age."

"So you're acclimatizing them towards me."

"Virtually."

"Great. Why don't you just tattoo the words 'ROOT successor' to my forehead and call it a day. Really. I've been told I have a billboard brow so it'll get advertised well enough."

Danzo wasn't as receptive to her jokes as other people, so he merely took the folders he needed and sat back in his seat like he hadn't heard her.

"The only way for you to be drafted is for the Clans of Konoha to finally come to a decision about you. One more vote against and it'll be overturned. One more vote for and I'll turn in your paperwork," he told her. "So far, no one has moved to switch sides. If you're able to find a way to change one of their minds, I suggest you do so. Quickly."

He handed her the folders, allowing her to thumb through the papers inside. Torune's current duties were nothing too hard to sneak around and complete; checking the perimeter's protection seals, cataloging the birds at the aviary and make sure none had been tampered with, and scouring the village for any potential menaces. This shouldn't be too tiring for a day.

"Just remember that I'm not going to be here full time. I'm still going to be at T&I and I intend to keep up with my genin teammates like I'm doing now. I'm only here for your position, and once I have it, things are going to change. Quickly," she mimicked. She tucked the folders under her arm and met his piercing stare.

"And what makes you think you can instill these reforms in a short amount of time?"

Sakura huffed.

"Kakashi calls me a tyrant for a reason, councilman. I'll live up to that name one way or another," she said as she strode out of the office. "Have a nice rest of your day."

Danzo only settled against the back of his chair once she was long gone. Haruno Sakura was interesting sort of storm, he had to admit. The reason he selected her as his successor was not only for her unusual attitude, but also for the promise of skill she so inadvertently made a show of.

Take the Jounin Exams, for example. Becoming a jounin of Konoha wasn't set on display for the world to see like the Chuunin Exams were. This process was subtle, more on the Hokage's part to assess an individual if they expressed an interest in climbing the ranks and had recommendations from at least three different people.

Sakura had five: one from Morino Ibiki, one from Shiranui Genma, one from Mitarashi Anko, one from Yamanaka Inoichi, and one from Hyuuga Hiashi.

Danzo didn't know what to make of the sudden appearance of the clan heads in the equation. Inoichi he understood because of his place as her therapist, but Hiashi? The man never showed any concern for anything unless it was directly involved with the Hyuuga itself.

But she still had her nominations and thus her file was put under evaluation. Danzo imagined her promotion was one of the easiest decisions Dan had to make that day. Sakura had plenty off-the-record A and B-ranks (maybe an S-rank here or there) under her belt, six months experience as a T&I associate, and had proven time and time again just what she was capable of.

He'd be a fool not to give her that higher status. Though one had to be cautious when dealing with young prodigies like her, so the Hokage would probably wait out on the announcement of her advancement until the Chuunin Exams.

They were only four months away, after all.

::

Sakura let most of her body sink into the impossibly soft, unstructured brown chairs of the therapy room. Her feet were kicked up on one of the arm rests as she wrapped her arms around one of the threadbare pillows. Inoichi peered at her curiously.

They'd been having fewer session since her promotion to chuunin where they no longer met every Thursday, but on the third Thursday of every month. He supposed it would be easier to see the bigger changes the longer it was between each time they saw each other.

"You seem very relaxed," he noted slowly. "Did something in your schedule change? Oh, and congratulations on becoming a jounin, by the way."

"Thanks," she yawned. "Sorry. I've actually been getting more sleep lately. I guess I have Naruto to thank for that."

He scribbled something on his clipboard.

"What did Naruto-kun do?"

"He nudged me into getting a hobby to help me relax because apparently, studying doesn't count. I tried a few things and eventually settled on knitting. I think it's helped," she said. Inoichi tilted his head, somewhat surprised at her admission and that she'd actually found something to help her wind down.

"It looks like it helped. Knitting has a lot of beneficial properties, I'm sure you already know, and it appears to be doing you good. How often do you knit?"

Sakura gazed up the ceiling and counted the dots in the plaster.

"It depends when Kakashi's free. We knit at his apartment and keep all the yarn and stuff there 'cause I doubt the old man would appreciate more stuff at the house, so it's an easier set up for the both of us."

Obito looked up from the book he was reading four seats down. Inoichi decided to have him move closer and closer to her with each visit, through the change was made in small increments, until he was sat right at her side.

"Eh?!" he exclaimed. "Kakashi knits?!"

She tipped her head back to meet his shocked stare and offered a wobbly grin.

"We've been knitting sweaters for his ninken. I keep telling him to let Sasuke, Naruto, and I meet them, but he's convinced that we'd all join forces and undermine his authority or sometime stupid like that," she chuckled. The Uchiha laughed.

"Bakakashi's always been a paranoid bastard, but I see where he's coming from. The head of his pack- Pakkun, would probably jump on his case for not introducing his team to them sooner, so you'd definitely win."

Inoichi's pen slipped from his fingers as he looked back and forth between the two. She was attempting a conversation. Was engaging in said conversation. Had genuine comfortability, even if it was shaky. Wasn't sweating. Wasn't keeping her distance. Was light-hearted. _Was keeping eye-contact_.

Sakura looked carefully at her therapist.

"Everything okay, Inoichi-san?"

"Perfectly," he answered immediately, picking up his pen. "You were talking about Hatake-san's ninken?"

Her eyes brightened softly as she turned her head back towards Obito.

"Right, so you were saying that..."

Inoichi tried to brush off his bewilderment as he jotted down some notes.

_ Patient has made exponential progress since last visit. Half the goals set up have been achieved and all will most likely be met within the next five or so sessions. _

He stopped, but as he saw Sakura's unease melt away as she listened to Obito speak, he wrote one last line before setting his clipboard aside.

_ She started to be kind to herself. _

::

" _So, funny story about how I'm going to do things_ ," Sasori read aloud as he paced back and forth in his room at an inn in Grass Country. " _I guess I didn't have the chance to tell you, but now that it's for sure in my documentation, I'm a hair's breadth away from becoming a ROOT operative. Or more specifically, Danzo's prime candidate in becoming his successor._ "

He stopped. Then re-read the passage. Then looked at the cat on his bed.

"Seriously?"

Kou flicked his tail.

"Seriously, nya."

Sasori pressed his fist against his forehead and took a breath before continuing with the rest of the letter.

" _Remember when I told you he took the blame for the death of my parents but I caught him at his own game and unearthed the organization's true intention? Turns out he wants to dig ROOT's reputation out of the dust. I'm already infamous enough as it is, and if I take over what was once his at say, fifteen years old, it'll shake Konoha's foundations and I'll get the chance to start making the big changes._ Dammit, I told her not to leave me out of stuff like this anymore! How rude," he sniffed. But this new plan was certainly going to put a whole new spin to things.

Hidan hadn't found much about Nagato. Not yet, anyways. The man was as elusive- and he quoted- 'as that damn Kyuubi brat in the other timeline. The fuck kind of bullshit is this?!'. He traveled as much as a wandering mock was imagined to, and even then word about Nagato was nearly impossible to catch.

If Sasori had to guess, it was that instead of actively seeking Nagato out, they'd have to sit back and wait for him to slip up on his own and have them find him that way. Be it in the next few months or the next few years, he didn't know. The three of them were thoroughly stumped.

He moved his attention back to the letter and read the last portion to himself.

\--

_ Take care and don't do anything stupid. _

** ~H.S. **

\--

"Don't do anything stupid?" he grumbled. " _I_ should be the one saying that this time."

Unbelievable. The fifteen year old Sakura he first met would never do something as reckless as this. Then again, the twenty-three year old Sakura he'd met in the Void would jump at any chance to steer the world away from the future she'd seen at whatever the cost. He wished he could keep a better eye on her and keep her from doing downright stupid things at the risk of her life, but circumstances were circumstances. He could only spare a real visit once a month.

_Still._ It was incredibly inconsiderate of her to not let him in on her intent on being the new ROOT leader! He was pouting now all thanks to her keeping secrets.

Sasori had been in the middle of mumbling to himself when Kou suddenly ducked beneath one of the beds and the door opened, Orochimaru stepping in and peeling off his cloak.

"I finished scouting the man we're set to kill," he informed. His eyes immediately latched onto the paper in his partner's hands. "You received a missive?"

"From an informant in Tanigakure," Sasori lied. "The herbs I've been keeping an eye on have finally come in and they told me I should be expecting a shipment waiting for me in Ame in about a week."

"Hm. You've mentioned those before. Did you finish the poison we need for the mission?"

"Yup. Catch."

Sasori reached into his back pouch and tossed the vial of clear liquid somewhere behind him, not really caring if it was caught or not. It startled Orochimaru into motion as he darted forward to snatch it with his slender fingers. He glared exasperatedly at the man whose antics he really should be used to by now. Six-ish years had passed since Sasori's drastic turn in personality, yet he still couldn't find it in himself to think it was a sudden change of heart. There was something wrong in the transition and he'd been trying to uncover what exactly it was for years before eventually giving up and deeming it a lose cause.

But no matter. It wouldn't interfere with his plans anyways.

"I'm going to let you know now that my availability will be scarce after the coming three months," Orochimaru began. "I've already run this by Yahiko-sama and he's fine with it as long as my endeavors don't fall under the Akatsuki's responsibility, which I don't intend for it. I've already gathered enough people for my pursuit and I will be working with them to finalize my plan."

Sasori's eyebrows furrowed. The sannin then and now still had the incomprehensible dream of achieving immortality though this one had a more dilute desire for it, but it didn't make the threat any less real.

"Plan for what?"

Yellow eyes glimmered.

"Why, my siege on Konoha, of course. I expect at least one Uchiha to compete in this year's Chuunin Exams and it's about time for me to change bodies. The opportunity is almost too good not to take. You could join me, if you wish."

"Ah... no thanks. I think I'm busy then."

As Orochimaru shrugged and went to inspect the poison, Sasori tried his best not to groan and smash his head into the nearest wall.

Great.

Just... _fantastic._


	63. Fourteen Days

_ I'm warning you right now that this is going to get real ugly real quick and I'm not looking forward to what's going to come out of it. _

_ Orochimaru has assembled an army and plans to attack during the Chuunin Exams this year. I've been guarding Suna to make sure he doesn't get to the Yondaime Kazekage this time and so far, I think I'm doing a pretty bang up job. The Yondaime is safe and unassuming, Gaara's really warming up to his siblings, and I might have almost been caught by Komushi on a few of my patrols. _

_ Nothing serious. _

_ I don't know if you want to tell everyone else, though I strongly advise against it and I know you probably  will too. Being skilled and knowledgeable is one thing, but if you starting spouting things about a highly dangerous missing-nin planning a terrorist attack meant to steal a member of one of the world's most prominent clans, I don't think that'll work particularly well for you. _

_ Thoughts? _

** ~Marionette **

_\--_

_ Are you fucking kidding me. _

** ~H.S. **

_\--_

_ Okay. I'll admit I shouldn't have been so cut and dry with that last letter. Let me lead up to it better. _

_ So, how was your week? _

** ~Marionette **

_\--_

_ Are you honestly saying that even when this timeline gets turned on its head we still get this snake bastard to fuck things up even more? No. Absolutely not. _

_ Is he after Sasuke? _

** ~H.S. **

_\--_

_ I'm sorry, I don't think I read that right. Did puppet fetish just inform me that Orochimaru is stuffing his fucking shit face in places it doesn't belong? I fucking hate that guy. If I were still sacrificing fucktards he wouldn't be worthy. _

_ Shit, that means I have to come up with an excuse to Juugo on why we're making a detour that coincidentally aligns with the start of the Chuunin Exams. We were supposed to be there during winter, not the middle of the fucking year. Fuck. _

_ Tell me you've got back up besides doll boy and I. _

**~⎊**  

\--

_ He just wants an Uchiha. If he finds out about Sasuke's mangekyou, then, well... _

** ~Marionette **

_\--_

_ Sasuke's not going to be taken this time. I'm not going through ten more years of trying to get him back from the stupid decision he made last time. _

_ Konoha's not going to know about the attack, but here's what's going to happen, got it? _

_ I'm drafting this once, it's going to get copied, and both of you should be getting this at the same time. _

_ Hidan, if you can get here at least a week before the exam officially starts, that'd be enough time to get everything sorted. I'm planning to have you scout for potential spies in the village while under you guise of being a monk. I don't know what we'll do with Juugo, but we'll keep him safe and away from any attacks. _

_ Sasori, same with you. Get here at least a week before the exam. I don't know my role in the exam just yet, but each of my three sensei was a proctor last time and I don't expect it to be any different. I suspect I'll be security in all three portions, but I can't be too involved because my teammates will be competing. You need to be in Training Ground 44 when the time comes. I'll tell you more when you get here. _

_ Deidara is coming as a jounin sensei. He'll be in the audience in the third exam and I'll cue him to when I need him to move. Momochi Zabuza will bring Haku to compete and will be in the audience during the third exam as well. It'll be the same with him. I'll brief them both and swear them to secrecy. _

_ Gaara will be my defense. I'll explain that later. _

_ And I suppose I might inform Yagura as well. I'll see where that takes me. _

**~H.S.**

_\--_

_I'm going to have_ words _with you when I get there._

** ~Marionette **

_\--_

_ Yagura? As in the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura?! What the fuck?! _

**~⎊**

_\--_

_ Just shut up and get your asses here ASAP, morons. We've got work to do. _

** ~H.S. **

\--

 

**14 Days Left Until the Exam**

 

Sakura kept her face carefully unsuspecting as she and the other T&I associates approached the Hokage Tower. It was two weeks before the exams officially began and her and all the higher level shinobi were going to be briefed on what was going to happen as teams from other villages started to come in.

Along with the announcement came her debut where all the other jounin got to see the newest member of their ranks- the youngest one since Uchiha Itachi. And they were going to get an eyeful of her uniform, allotting her to the least desired branch of their profession.

"T&I gets to play a big part in the exams, I hear," Anko grinned as she rubbed her hands together. "Can you imagine? If I get to be a proctor, then I can't wait to show those snot-nosed brats that Konoha isn't all as cushy as they thought it'd be."

"Battery is illegal, Anko," Genma reminded dryly. "Whatever you're thinking of I know you'll get arrested for."

"Psh, like I'd get caught."

" _I_ don't get caught," Sakura said. "You, on the other hand, get fined for property damage."

"That was a month ago, tidbit!"

"What about yesterday?"

"Yesterday was justified!"

"Yesterday you were drunk and Sakura and Shiranui had to haul your dumbass back home without setting off your traps. I think I know how that went after hearing that explosion in the middle of the night," Ibiki grunted. Genma rolled the senbon to the other corner of his mouth and smiled.

"The decision's made. Three to one, you're crazy and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children."

The woman hoisted up an unsuspecting Sakura into her arms before she could protest and cuddled her close, a maniacal grin on her face.

"Aw, but this one's my favorite!"

Sakura sighed dramatically.

"This is what my life has come to— being carried in the arms of someone who should be locked away in an asylum. Oh, the humanity! Genma, tell the old man I've always hated his cornflakes as my last dying wish!"

In the midst of Genma's and Anko's laughter, Ibiki wondered where he went wrong in his life to deserve to be surrounded by a constant agitation that came in a group of three idiots.

At least they sobered up once they came upon the meeting room. Some several other shinobi were already waiting for the session to be called to discuss which teams were nominated, what protocols would be in place, which security measures would be taken, and others of the like. Everyone that wasn't a genin sensei had to stay longer, though, since the actual layout of the exams couldn't be relayed to them as per regulation.

Sakura scanned the room, ignoring the curious looks and double takes she received, and saw Kakashi standing at a more secluded area with Gai talking his ear off at him. She caught his gaze and beamed.

He stared at her. Blinked. Narrowed his eyes. Then pinched the bridge of his nose. With all the time they knit together, one would think she would've informed him of her new status beforehand.

He didn't have the opportunity to act on his annoyance as the meeting was called mere seconds later and everyone took this to seat themselves in the room accordingly: the Intelligence Division to the right and back (where T&I was cozily situated), the Medical Units to the left and back, the Military Police force to the right and front (Obito waved at Sakura. She waved back.), and the Regular Forces to the left and front. The Clan Heads, of course, were present and were with their respective divisions.

The genin sensei were in the front of everyone else for all to see and recognize. The Godaime Hokage, on a raised platform along with the council members, motioned for them all to stand and state if their teams would be competing or not.

"Maito Gai."

"I lead the team consisting of Hyuuga Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee. I recommend all three for the exams."

"Yuuhi Kurenai."

"I lead the team consisting of Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. I recommend all three for the exams."

"Sarutobi Asuma."

"I lead the team consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. I recommend all three for the exams."

"Hatake Kakashi."

Once the attention shifted to him, the atmosphere grew wary. He was a man infamous for his skill and lack of emotion,and when he was given a team of early graduates the whispers started to spread. He entered his team in the exam two years ago in Iwa, where only one of his students passed with the highest score seen in a long time. A year ago, he rejected nominating his remaining two students simply because: "They told me they refuse to."

And here was the team's third chance at entering, and no one could've expected what he had to say.

"I lead the team consisting of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke," he said. Murmurs went around when he didn't state the third name, even if that student had gained rank. "I recommend both, and would like to know if it were possible for a genin from another village to complete the three-man requirement."

A random voice from behind him piped up.

"Who was your original third member?"

Kakashi didn't turn to regard the question.

"Haruno Sakura. She was not mentioned because she has already attained jounin status," he replied. The attention in the room quickly snapped from him to the occupied seat between Genma and Ibiki. Sakura grinned.

"Hi!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "My name's Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you!"

A few who already knew her coughed or covered their mouths to smother their amusement. Dan's eyes twinkled as he motioned for Kakashi to continue with his interesting idea.

"Who is this genin from a different village?" he questioned. Kakashi kept his disposition, undeterred.

"A shinobi from Kirigakure," he answered. The murmurs turn into whispers as Kiri's unfavored nickname _Chigiri_ makes it's appearance. Many shinobi of Konoha held a certain animosity towards the way they conducted themselves, and Kakashi was known to be one of the many among them. When had he changed his ideals so much that he dare make a suggestion? He continued. "There aren't any rules against it as far as I've read, and it may be because no one's ever done it before."

The unspoken _and you can help build those relations you want to much_ lies heavy enough in his words that Dan understands.

"I have no issue with it as long as a basic file of your temporary member is turned in before the exam starts," the Godaime said. Kakashi tilts his head in understanding- he doesn't know where all hell he'll get something like _that_ \- and accepts the terms from beneath the stares of the all the others in the room.

With the nominations and a few other security measures out of the way, a ten minute break was called. Sakura had drifted away from her sector and ended up in the company of Kakashi and his fellow genin sensei.

"Were you really on his team? And work in T&I?" Kurenai questioned curiously. It came to her as quite a surprise that someone like her could rise in a non-war era, especially someone so young to be in a division under the widely feared Morino Ibiki.

"Yeah and yeah. I've been a T&I associate for ten months, was an apprentice for two years, and have been learning under the old ma- er- Ibiki and Genma since I was six. Anko a little later on," Sakura replied. Gai, now thoroughly intrigued even after meeting her a while back, furthered his queries.

"And you _just_ graduated when you were ten?"

"I could've graduated sooner, but I didn't want to leave some friends behind. Besides, I got lucky and ended up with Kakashi as a teacher."

Asuma raised an eyebrow.

"He lets you call him 'Kakashi'?"

"No," she snorted. "But I'll be damned if I start listening to him now."

There was something... amiable about how bright and lively she was. The shinobi lifestyle had yet to outwardly wear her down and her cheer was like a breath of fresh air in the serious, jaded nature of their career. Kurenai and Asuma had taken to her quite well in her introduction and smiled at her audacity. Gai too had grinned at her youthful response, but Kakashi...

He glared at the girl.

"Don't you have to be a headache somewhere else?

"Just because you have a stick up your butt doesn't mean you can't be nice. We made you dinner a few days ago. You're welcome."

"You raided my pantry."

"Well you left the door open! You expected me not to eat those BBQ chips? They're the good kind!"

"Get your own."

"Learn to share. What are you, five?"

If he had a cigarette in his mouth, Asuma was sure he'd be choking on smoke as his eyes darted between Kakashi and Sakura. Forget amiable— the girl was one hell of a riot to rile up Kakashi like he wasn't able to kill her with one scathing look. And more surprising than that, Kakashi was _letting_ the twelve year old jounin poke him around.

"... Does this happen often?" Kurenai whispered to the two beside her. Gai's expression stayed astounded.

"We had a joint practice once and they did this too. Isn't it wonderful? The youth of their friendship truly shines through!"

Both had stopped bickering at the same time, turned, and stared at their astonished audience.

"What?" they questioned in unison. It was a second before they blanched in equal succession as Gai's eyes welled up with tears and something that looked suspiciously like a sunset started blooming in the background. Sakura jerked her thumb behind her.

"I-I need to get back to the meeting. Exam stuff. You know."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her.

"You _wouldn't_ -"

"I'll make it up to you later— nice meeting you Sarutobi-san, Yuuhi-san— bye!"

And she left him to fend off Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey all on his lonesome as she slipped back into the conference room.

The meeting went on as expected; two hours filled with procedures and job assignments were never interesting. Anko had been right in her comments earlier where she said she hoped T&I would have a bigger part in the exams than in previous years. Bigger part was an understatement-- the exam practically revolved around those who worked in Torture and Interrogation.

Ibiki would proctor the first exam, which was a written portion of twenty questions that should be far too advanced for genin to handle (except maybe her boys, as she'd been intent on broadening their knowledge to that of higher standards since two years ago). Fake attendees would be place throughout the test takers to act as those who should be cheated off of.

But it wouldn't only be Ibiki in that room. The walls were to be lined with the routine interrogators whose scars marred their faces and whose grins stretched out into something wholly unpleasant.

Anko would be the second proctor who manned the survival part of the exam in Training Ground 44. Each team would be given either an Earth Scroll or a Heaven scroll, and who had which was concealed from the other competitors. Both scrolls were needed to pass the test, but the location they needed to take the scrolls could only be discovered after completing what was asked of three different riddles:

_What always runs but never walks, often murmurs but never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?_

The next riddle would be found near the river.

_I have the most rings but no finger and when cloudy breaths puff my cover won't linger. Oh, how I wish I could fly yet it seems I can only brush the sky._

At the top of the tallest tree on the grounds would hold the last riddle.

_Here you are at very long last because you have yet to find what you need to pass. But what am I, exactly, this thing that you seek? Maybe I'm back at the start in the bed of the creek. Or perhaps at the gate where the fences run high is where you'll see what you need to go by. Or your win just might not be so locked. Go to the center and gain victory at 5 o'clock._

The tower would be the end goal, but they could only enter the door positioned at 5 o'clock to move on to the next round. A team could only succeed when both scrolls were obtained and they reach that specified location within the period of eleven days without opening either of them before reaching their goal.

Sakura winced at the thought of all those genin going through that hell. Testing skills was one thing, but there was a point where you could call something downright _mean_.

If too many teams passed, a preliminary would be held to cut the participants down by half. Those who succeeded went on to participate in the final round: one to one combat in the middle of a stadium, a crowd, and three of the five Kage.

Sakura was lucky she wasn't directly involved in any of the greater machinations of the tests. She, along with some Military Police and Regular Forces, had been assigned as security who would report to the Hokage at the end of each exam. For the first, she'd be guarding the Academy building. For the second, she'd be in the Forest of Death to make sure no one actually dies. For the third, she'd be at the stadium, making sure the snake bastard didn't make any sudden moves.

It was nothing too difficult and it gave her enough arm room to work in her own ideas.

The end of the meeting gave her the rest of the day off with Ibiki only mentioning that she be at work at seven in the morning before shooing her away. Sakura grinned and was about to make her trademark disappearance when she saw a familiar form waiting outside the Tower.

"Kakashi?" she gasped. "You waited up for me?!"

She saw his scowl from behind the fabric of his mask as he folded his arms over his chest, appearing every bit of a straight laced, no-nonsense soldier.

"We need to talk about the team assignment."

"Aw, don't change the subject," she cooed. "You waited for me 'cause you're a big softie and you finally admit that we're friends now."

" _Sakura—_ "

"All grown up and finally using his feelings! Is this a dream?!"

Handfuls of other jounin snickered as they passed them by. The new addition to their ranks certainly was going to be entertaining despite what Kakashi might've thought. He snatched the back of her jacket and dragged her down the street away from the other shinobi until they were a decent distance away.

"Do you know who I'm adding to the team alongside Sasuke and Naruto?" he questioned abruptly. They ended up somewhere in a park in the civilian districts where the people were sparse and the trees were bright green. Sakura adjusted her collar and smoothed out the ends of her uniform, a small pout on her face.

"Based on what you said? Haku, probably. Momochi's the only other person you'd talk to there and the only person outside this village who'd take your bullshit," she said. Once she fixed her uniform, she smacked his arm. "Drag me across the village one more time and I'll drop you."

He nearly rolled her eyes and pushed away the fact that her hit kind of hurt. She was twelve and annoying and he was never going to admit it.

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise, asshole. Anyway, so you've got a problem. Hokage-sama said you need his file or something and you agreed. But I'm guessing that you have no idea where you'll get something like that."

His silence was answer enough.

"That's it, huh? You're asking for _my_ help."

"Look, I don't need to ask you."

"But the point is that you did and I'm not going to let this go," she grinned. She laughed at his grimaced admittance. "I'm just teasing, stick-in-the-mud. But don't worry, I'll handle it."

Kakashi's head stalled slightly as he digested her words. Handle? He wanted to talk to her, swallow his pride for once in his life, and ask for her help in formulating a plan that most likely involved high-end diplomacy and a quick trip to Kirigakure, not hand her the mission to complete all on her own.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll have Haku's file for you by the end of the week."

Impossible. But it wasn't like he had many options on his hands and asking Zabuza for it was already sort of a stretch to their interactions considering he wouldn't hand over Naruto's or Sasuke's files if he'd ask either. He sighed.

"Fine."

"Great! Now come on, let's find the boys and get a late lunch."

That night, she wrote to Yagura.

\--

_In Mist,  _

_ I'm sure your shinobi has informed you that my genin sensei intends to have one of your genin join the rest of his team to compete in the Chuunin Exams, that team including my previous teammates. _

_ Your genin's file is needed in order for the team to be cleared and declared. _

**~H.S.**

\-- 

_In Leaf,_

_You should know that's classified information. What do you have that can be exchanged for such?_

**~III**

\-- 

 

**13 Days Until the Exam**

 

She was on her own time for once in a long while, not that she was bothered by it. The jounin sensei were implementing their final strides of their training regimen for the exams. The old man, Genma, and Anko were busy prepping their portions and she'd finished up her job for the day, so stocking up on weapons was the best idea she thought of at the moment.

"Why, if it isn't my best customer!" the shop owner greeted. "How's it been, little lady? Heard about your promotion. Congrats on making the big leagues!"

"Things have been okay and thanks, oji-san. Got anything new?"

"Not for a while, I'm afraid. At least 'til the exams are over," he said. Sakura hummed and peered through the display cases.

"Then my usual's fine."

"Hang tight, then. I'll get your things from the back."

The shop owner set down his newspaper with a fatherly grin and disappeared towards the storage room. Sakura leaned against the glass, observing the various weapons absentmindedly, when the door opened and the tiny bell on the ceiling tinged at the motion. She didn't care to turn to look at the stranger even when he stood near her side.

"Is the clerk busy?"

"He'll be back in a few," she answered. She propped her hand in her cheek and looked up. "You're here way earlier than I expected."

Hidan scowled.

"Well excuse me for freaking the fuck out a tiny bit when you mentioned the Yondaime. That's the last fucker I want to get involved with after that whole incident."

"He commissioned me to find the person who killed Uchiha Madara Uchiha to save his life."

"... You're fucking insane, you know that? Batshit. You and puppet fetish both."

The shop owner came back inside, alerting Hidan to switch his demeanor back into one that was compassionately pleasant and willed a genuine smile on his face. 

Sakura coughed _bullshit_ into her arm.

"Here's your regular bundle. Kunai, senbon, chakra wire, metal polish, tags. I'll ring you up," he said. As he punched numbers into the register, he greeted his new customer enthusiastically. "Afternoon, sir! What can I do for you?"

"A pack of senbon, please."

"Of course! Anything else?"

"Ah, no thank you."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. Knowing this Hidan was the exact same Hidan as her past, she found it almost hard to believe he was able to switch from vulgar prick to saintly monk in less than a second. He wasn't even dressed in his robes yet he _oozed_ peaceful vibes. It was just short of ridiculous.

She took the supplies given to her and handed over the money- tip included, of course, as this man had been her sole supplier for seven years- and waited until Hidan had his things situated before heading out beside him.

"Have a nice day, oji-san!" she called out. He waved at her before taking the newspaper back into his hands.

"I'll let you know when we've got a new shipment, little lady. You and your friend take care now."

Hidan dipped his head politely, only letting his usual attitude mingle beneath his facade as they started walking down the street.

"I still want to know how you're so involved with the Yondaime fuck," he said. Sakura founded slightly unnerving that his crassness ended up a complete mismatch with his gentle smile and calm aura. But appearances needed to be kept up, even in public.

"I'll explain in full when the puppet gets here. Also, your acting's unreal. You're not even the least bit suspicious."

"I've been doing this shit long enough," he shrugged. "Got tons of people fucked up when they underestimated me. Cocky bastards."

She laughed.

"I guess that's true. So how did Juugo react to your detour? Since you guys are going to be here a while."

"Not like the kid's got much of a choice. He'd been wanting to visit for a while though. so he doesn't mind," he said. There was a sort of fondness in his voice that made her pause and observe him curiously. She wasn't surprise that he gained some humanity through living his life over again and she couldn't blame him for wanting that, but it made her wonder.

"Why did you take Juugo with you? I mean, instead of going to the people you already knew."

His expression shuttered for a moment, indecision trailing his skin as Sakura realized that his humanity ran deeper than what she initially thought. They were interrupted- luckily enough for Hidan- when they turned a street corner and ran right into Asuma.

His cigarette tilted down at the sight of the man beside the recently announced jounin.

"You're one of the orphan boys from the Temple? Hidan, right?" he asked. Hidan nodded graciously, his smile widening as if expected of him.

"It's been a while, Sarutobi-san."

"Knew I recognized from somewhere. Chiriku still looking after you?"

Sakura stayed to the side and out of the conversation, but looked between them with hidden incredulity. It was almost ironic seeing them act like old acquaintances. After a good-natured laugh from what Hidan just said, Asuma turned his smile to her.

"You're showing him around the village, Haruno-san?"

"Yup. I'm showing him nice places to take it easy," she lied. "I met him on a passing mission and promised him a tour."

"Well don't let me keep you," Asuma said. "I'll see you around, Haruno-san. And Hidan— it was nice seeing you again. When you see Chiriku again, tell him I said hello."

"Of course, Sarutobi-san."

After he left, Hidan noted the skepticism in Sakura's eyes as he let his normal attitude bubble up again.

"What's with the dumb look?"

"Don't you think it's kind of awkward talking to him after what happened before?" she asked. His eyebrows pulled together.

"I knew him before?"

Sakura stared at him. Longer. In disbelief. She allowed him a few moments to search through his memories before he pressed his palms against his eyes.

"... He's the Nara bitch's sensei, isn't he?"

"Kind of."

"Of fucking course he was."

::

_ In Mist, _

_In less than five years, I guarantee you that I will become the leader of one of  my village's most notorious organizations and rebuild them on the grounds covered in the dust they were once buried under._

_Is that enough? An assurance for a future business prospect?_

**~H.S**

\--

_ In Leaf, _

_ You're full of surprises, aren't you? But that's merely something that I can't afford to hold you up on despite our previous dealings. I suggest something more tangible. _

_ Though the idea of knowing someone who could be quite powerful in the future is quite interesting. _

**~III**

\--

 

**11 Days Until the Exam**

 

"Did you get shorter?"

"I'm not above punting you out the window, Sakura."

"Fucking _shut up_ and let me read this, dammit!"

As Hidan peered at the scroll more closely, Sasori resigned to settle against the couch with a huff and let his eyes roam around the room. He arrived merely an hour ago and, after catching sight of Sakura and Hidan talking to each other on the street, was dragged to the closest safe place in order to discuss what they'd been meaning to for the past weeks.

That safe place being Sakura's own home, leaving him dubious even after her assurances that the three of them would be just fine.

"See, it would have been fine if you were living in the civilian districts like before because of how rarely shinobi spend their time there," he started again. Sakura opened her fridge, not bothering to look into the living room to level him with an unimpressed stare. "But we're in a shinobi district surrounded by jounin level or higher. Not to mention you current guardian is the head of T&I— what if we get _caught_?"

This time, she did turn.

"Says the man who once wanted to talk to me when we were literally in hearing distance of Hatake Kakashi. And told Hoshigaki Kisame that he was a time traveler because he wanted to make a joke. And got himself caught by the Tsuchikage when visiting Deidara. And—"

"Okay. Fair point," he admitted. "Excuse me for trying to be the voice of reason."

"Voice of reason?!"

"Someone obviously has to take the job because it can't be you after ROOT and the Mizukage and—"

"How the actual fuck are you two not dead yet?!" Hidan interrupted as the scroll he was reading rolled shut. "Damn shit, the fuck have you been trying to do the past whatever years? You two are literally a kid and a missing-nin, what kind of crazy ass bullshit are you getting into? Are you trying to get caught?!"

"Point is, we didn't. And we won't. Probably," Sakura said. She brought over a tray of sponge cakes, coffee jelly, and a steaming pot of green tea. "There are silencing seals, wards around the perimeter that'll provide a ten second buffer of us getting the hell out of here if someone trips them, and the old man's not coming home tonight."

She dropped herself into the arm chair and allowed a skimming thought to think over her situation. Here she was— twelve again— on the path to drastically changing her future and quite possibly not having her generation live through the unforgiving effects of war. Two of her old world's most dangerous criminals who'd killed and eventually reaped what they sowed, with what little to no remorse they had at those moments, were now lounging in her living room. One had a mouth full of sponge cakes and the other was jiggling the jelly on his spoon.

Sometimes she wondered if she was dreaming the past seven years.

"I want to hear about the whole deal with the Yondaime first," Hidan said before taking another bite of cake. "Like, what the fuck. Why would you involve yourself with him?"

"Long story short, I healed one of his jounin, saved the life of one of his genin, and was way too knowledgeable for a kid. He couldn't spare any resources and took the chance with me. And he's our major clue for finding Nagato. Aside from you, he's the only one we know of who's had a decent interaction with him," she explained. She was trapped too. If she refused, Yagura probably wouldn't have let her go.

"Then what's the point of telling him? How can you be sure that he's so willing to offer to help us?" Sasori questioned. He at the jelly and let the spoon rest in his mouth.

"I'm not, but we don't exactly have a whole army to back us up," she explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if Orochimaru had hundreds of nin behind him, half of them being genetically modified due to his experiments. We have the Uchiha this time, but once he makes it known it's them he's after the Hokage would order them to safer locations. With help from other people I know and can put on guard without the risk of being sold out, I'd say we have..."

She quickly did the calculations.

"... thirteen."

"Thirteen," Sasori repeated blandly.

"Sixteen if you want to include us. Seven if you don't want to count genin actually competing."

Hidan took another sponge cake off the plate.

"What do we have in terms of abilities?" he asked.

"A Kage, a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, an ice user, the Mangekyo, at least one member of most of Konoha's main clans, the Kyuubi, the Ichibi, a bomber, and us," Sakura replied. He scratched his head.

"Well... it sounds a whole lot fucking better when you phrase it like that."

"But most of them weren't the shinobi we've met. Not yet anyways," Sasori sighed. "They're genin with what, six months of experience? They're nothing compared to what they will be. Even if Orochimaru doesn't have Suna on his side, I feel like he compensated for that this time around. What are our main goals?"

Sakura poured herself a cup of tea.

"Keep Konoha's damage low, make sure the Uchiha are safe, don't let anyone get the Uchiha are safe, don't let anyone get the curse mark, kill Orochimaru, kill Kabuto."

Sasori's eyes lit up.

"Dibs on Kabuto."

"What?"

"He played double agent against me. For _Orochimaru_ ," he stressed. Hidan cackled into his cake. "If anyone's killing him, it's going to be me."

"And he was one of the major players in the War," she noted.

"The War," Hidan echoed as he stared at the table from his seat on the ground. He hadn't lived to see it and Sasori hadn't either. And to be honest, he was glad he hadn't. "With how everything's changed, you think it could happen again?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Madara's dead, Kabuto's going to be dead, and not a single Uchiha has defected or disappeared in the past twenty years. If there ever was a war, the whole world wouldn't have been involved like before."

Her conviction was only half reassuring, but if the look on her face said anything, he didn't think she would make it through the second time around. Hidan wanted to ask how she died, why it was after the war and not during, if it was some last chance attack from the enemy— but he knew the answer. At least, he thought he did. And if he was right...

He ate more cake and tried not to think about it.

"You know," Sasori hummed. "This plan is almost as crazy as wanting to make Uchiha Itachi the next Hokage."

Cue the wet hacking sound.

"Hold—  _Hold the fuck on_ you—  _cough—_  want to—  _what_?!"

Sakura looked at the clock above the stove, it's digital green numbers flashing 10:58.

It was going to be a long night.

::

_ In Mist,  _

_ Haku's file for a favor. Whatever you want whenever you want, no restrictions. _

_ I'll sign my name in blood for it. _

** ~H.S. **

\--

_ In Leaf, _

_ I think it's safe for me to say that I've never met as shinobi so young yet so willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. You're strong and you're honest, and I don't know how you've managed to last this long. _

**~III**

\--

Attached was a contract with a line to sign her name.

 

**10 Days Until the Exam**

 

Pale spidery fingers ran over the small stack of files on the table. This was all that could be taken int he short time allotted so that they couldn't be caught and wouldn't be suspected. The village had certainly raised its security since the last time they'd been there, but it wasn't enough. They'd always been so weak.

And now, he had the files of all the participants from Konoha.

Three Uchiha were competing and Orochimaru expected the crop to be larger, but three was still two more than what he needed. One of them, though, was infinitely more interesting than the rest. Not by skill set or ability, but by the circumstance he'd landed himself in.

This would be his second time competing. The first was two years ago in Iwa and the second was now because he refused to take the one in Kusa last year. His teammates included the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki intriguingly enough and a genin- _was this possible?_ \- from Kirigakure, though their identity had yet to be revealed. Their sensei was the infamous Hatake Kakashi and their original third teammate was no longer with them.

Orochimaru read the file with careful eyes and a growing grin.

"What makes you so special, Uchiha Sasuke-kun?"

In his insistent studying of 'Team Seven', it didn't include the kunoichi that graduated alongside them and who had been promoted that same year. He took one look at her name and dismissed her as a clever child with a civilian heritage who must've been placed on the team due to intellect and nothing to compare to the two rare gems on her team.

He didn't bother looking into Haruno Sakura.

::

_In Mist,_

_It's part of my charm._

**~H.S.**

\--

Attached was the contract with her blood signature.

\--

_ In Leaf, _

_ And what a peculiar charm it is. Good luck to you, kunoichi. You've amused me enough to leave me in good spirits. _

**~III**

\--

Attached was Haku's file.

::

Kakashi had been walking towards the Jounin Standby Station when Sakura suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke and thrust a folder into his hands.

"No charge," she winked. As he stared down at in in disbelief, she laughed and walked away.

 

**7 Days Until the Exam**

 

With only one week left until exams, more teams from more countries started flowing in as Konoha enjoyed this short term economic hike. Hotels were filing, visitors were exploring, and security had more than likely tripled, if not doubled.

Deidara was one of those meandering people, his brown and maroon uniform a stark contrast against the dark greens and blues of Konoha. Though his purposes weren't exactly for tourism as he stood next to the Hokage Tower and waited for his contact.

"How do you like the village so far?" a voice asked from his left. He sighed dramatically.

"Too green. Too cheery. Definitely too humid too, un."

He fell into step beside Sakura as they made their way through the districts. Deidara eyed the dark grey of her outfit, realizing it was a uniform, but made no comment about it. He'd find out what it was for sooner or later.

"Too green? Didn't take yo for a plant hater," she teased. "Maybe you're just lightheaded from all the oxygen you're getting here— comes with the fact you live in a place that's all dusty rock."

"We have bamboo, hm!"

"You _barely_ have bamboo. Set a panda loose in your village and it'll starve to death."

Deidara snorted.

"Anyway," she continued. "What do you normally do for snacks? Because I'm hungry and if you don't pick something quick, we're diving into the nearest stall whether you like it or not."

"Crepes," he answered immediately. Sakura grinned and led him a little ways down the street.

"I think we'll get along just fine."

::

What happened at Nekomata's still rang fresh in his brain. The incident was months ago and he should've been over it by now. 

His suspicions on Haruno Sakura shouldn't have him so worried.

Itachi half-listened to Shisui's ramblings as they walked about Konoha. They were ANBU undercover, he supposed, to note any foreigners that were worth keeping an eye on but— he couldn't find it in himself to keep on task. Something was resolutely wrong with what happened that day.

Ninneko were secretive by nature but flaunted it in a way that made others both curious and uneasy. They didn't do things that were unnecessary, thus the level of their dealings with Sakura lay higher than he thought comfortable. What did Sakura want with him?

What did Sakura want with his future?

Itachi unconsciously slowed to a stop when Shisui did the same, turning his eyes to search for what could've caused his cousin to pause and go quiet. There, by one of the many food stalls, was his main source of concern— along with one of the jounin sensei from Iwa.

"That's a little interesting, isn't it?" Shisui mused. "Not only is she friends with cats, but with rats too."

A frown pulled at the edges of Itachi's lips as he scrutinized the interaction more closely. That feeling of _wrongness_ only further spread at the back of his head. Her and the Iwa-nin weren't speaking like they first met. There was a backstory somewhere where they'd been in each other's company before.

It shouldn't be there. Iwa and Konoha had never been friendly.

"Perhaps it's for relations," Itachi suggested. Both Uchiha saw the Iwa-nin laugh at something Sakura said, her laughing in turn as she bit into her crepe. Shisui matched his younger cousin's frown.

"Personal relations," he corrected. "A foreign jounin and a twelve year old jounin prodigy? Tell me that's not the least bit fishy."

Before Itachi could even make a move to be subtle, Shisui stepped out of the crowd they were hiding behind and exclaimed a greeting with full vigor and a smile.

"It's Sakura-chan! Who's that with you? A friend?"

Itachi barely restrained dropping his face into his hands.

Sakura eyed them with an unreadable expression before plastering on her usual grin.

"Yeah, a friend."

Her and her blond haired companion exchanged looks.

"Deidara, un," the Iwa-nin introduced. His nose wrinkled slightly at seeing the clan insignia at the bottom of the two newcomer's shirts. "Your village isn't half bad. Not home, but not as sappy as I thought it'd be, hm." 

Sakura's grin widened. Shisui kept up his usual cheer.

"We can't all be rock-hearted, I guess. Uchiha Shisui."

"Uchiha Itachi," the other offered quietly. "Have the two of you known each other long?"

Deidara narrowed his visible eye.

"Does it matter, hm? Shouldn't be any of your business," he retorted. Shisui shrugged and took a step closer to shorten the distance between their groups.

"Can't another friend of Sakura-chan's be worried?" he questioned, his hand reaching to pat the girl's head. "You're an—"

"Touch my hair and I'll snap your fingers."

"—unfamiliar shinobi, after all," Shisui smiled. His hand changed its course to gesture widely instead. "There's not such thing as being too careful. Not that I'm saying you're any dangerous."

Deidara growled.

"I can be plenty dangerous if you keep talking, Uchiha."

"Wanna bet?"

"Chill out, break it up," Sakura interrupted, but there was a bright gleam in his eyes. "This is an international event so playing nice is definitely in your best interests for the next two or so months."

She looked at Shisui.

"I'd leave the interrogating to T&I. They're quite good at that," she said. She ignored his build up to whining and looked at Itachi. "Keep him on a leash, please. His recessive genes are running wild again and I think it'll get him in trouble one day."

She began nudging Deidara down the road.

"And I better not hear any more incidents like this or _people_ are going to start losing their _kneecaps_."

Shisui blinked as he watched them walk down their own way, the threat a mere sprinkle in the air but real all the same. How cute.

"But I like my kneecaps," he muttered dejectedly. Itachi merely stared after them, his gaze narrow and the feeling of wrongness only expanding. It shouldn't be this way.

Far down the path, Deidara took grumbling bits of his apple-cinnamon crepe and whispered down at her from the corner of his mouth.

"So what did you want to talk to me about, un?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Not yet," she said. "If one of your genin make to the third exam or if you come back to watch, we'll talk."

 

**5 Days Until the Exam**

 

"That sounds ineffective."

"Sounds—In practice, it works better than your lightning hand or whatever you call it."

"Chidori. Though doesn't that combination lengthen the enemy's execution?"

"It might, but it gets the intent across to their possible other teammates."

The conversation might not be loud enough for many to hear, but the daunting quiet of the tea house had them heard by snippets no matter how uncaring they were with their conversation. It was a feat to have a shinobi dominated establishment reach such low decibels, but it wasn't everyday that two internationally feared ninja talked to each other to pass the time.

It was more than terrifying seeing Momochi Zabuza and Hatake Kakashi get along.

A waiter reluctantly made his way over to the two, a tray pressed against his chest as his whole body wracked with trembles.

"U-Um, sir-sirs..."

Kakashi and Zabuza twisted their heads at the same time, causing the tea house to drop several more degrees and the waiter's vision to start going hazy.

"... Wou-Would you... you..."

Zabuza flashed him a grin full of razor sharp teeth.

"Come again?"

The waiter stared at the teeth, raised his eyes, then promptly fell backwards before anyone could catch him. The Mist-nin laughed and Kakashi thoughtfully regarded the prone figure on the ground as a number of the other workers quickly gathered him up and took him to the back.

"Impressive," he admitted. "A flair for the frightening is always a useful tool to have."

"Think that was good? Ha! Let me tell you about this poor bastard that tried to mess with us on our way here..."

Asuma and Kurenai also happened to be at the tea house that day, but were sat far on the other side of the restaurant as they watched the interaction with stumped fascination. They both had their fair share of missions with Kakashi and they knew he was generally a cold person. He was always alone and, as far as they knew, he liked being alone.

"He doesn't like Chigiri much either, right?" Asuma murmured. "Hard to believe he'd willingly be in the company of one of their high-end shinobi."

"That just means he's every bit of changed, like what Gai said. His genin team did wonders," Kurenai replied, sipping her tea.

"I don't know how they managed, but they did. Students have a tendency to make miracles. Not to mention he had Haruno-san on his team..."

"Haruno-san?"

"I saw her with one of Chiriku's boys the other day. One of my friends back in my guardian days? Anyway, she was showing him around. I know it might not be a big deal or anything, but she must know her way around people if she was able to get a monk on her side," he said. Kurenai set down her cup and shared his look of contemplation. That was interesting, considering what she'd heard earlier about her being around that Iwa-nin.

"We don't know her that well yet, so I suppose we should hold off on our judgement," she suggested. Her eyes roamed back over to Kakashi and Zabuza for a glance, and she leaned away when she heard them comparing techniques on decapitation. "... and maybe see if it was her who put Kakashi up to this new... _friendship_."

::

"Ramen is a life force," Naruto stated with utmost sincerity. "There's not living without it and there's definitely no flavor discrimination like some people think—"

"Miso ramen is a disgrace, dobe."

"—and those _some_ people could be called haters, asshats, or if you want, just Sasuke."

Haku laughed.

"So I recommend miso ramen because that's the best one and I'm right of course because we're talking about ramen," he resumed. "But you can try shio tempura ramen too because that's Sakura-chan's favorite. And _I guess_ you can try Sasuke's favorite, shoyu chicken, 'cause like I said, no ramen discrimination, but you can pick whatever you want, dattebayo!"

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Haku first met up at the gates and spent most of their time catching up with each other. But once Naruto found out Haku never really tried ramen, he took it upon himself to bring his friend to 'The Greatest Ramen Place of All Existence' to have lunch, much to Teuchi's delight.

"I think I'll listen to the expert and try miso ramen," Haku said. Naruto raised his fists in the air.

"Woo! Take that, Sasuke!"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, peering at the notebook in her hand. Five days away from the Chuunin Exams had her schedule packed until the early morning with security rundowns, formation exercises, and T&I preparations. It was a marvel she was able to even squeeze this lunch and meet up into a time slot.

Teuchi set down seven bowls of ramen (Naruto with his customary four) and grinned.

"Enjoy!"

"Thanks Teuchi-san!" they chorused. Sakura took a pair of chopsticks and snapped them apart.

"Hey, what time is it?" she asked. The noodles were halfway to her mouth when Sasuke glanced at his wrist watch.

"12:40."

"12:4— _what_?!"

The entire ramen stand watched in amazement as she funneled her food in the span of ten seconds before running past the cloth entrance and bolting down the street.

"SorryI'mlatesomeonecovermeI'llpayyoubacklaterniceseeingyouHakubye!!!'

Sasuke turned back to his food.

"I've never seen her eat that fast before."

"Aw man, that means she's been holding out on our ramen-offs!" Naruto pouted.

::

Kou lazily watched as his summoner bolted out of a ramen shop and disappeared down the street in a blue. Ah, the start of the exams. A time where he could easily relax while watching Naruto and Sasuke to make sure nothing suspicious happened around them. Not like it was any different than the jobs Sakura normally tasked him to do.

"Killing Orochimaru is quite the end goal, don't you think?" Yori questioned. The deathstalker scorpion had nestled himself into the fur on Kou's head, he too watching the streets for any curious activity. "Maybe it might not be much for Sasori-san, Sakura-san, and Hidan-san, but in front of people from all around the world?"

Sango, a small alligator about the size of a regular house cat (and also Hidan's personal summon), shifted her position at Kou's side and burned her cloudy brown eyes down at some pedestrians right below the cover they were hiding under.

"Haruno has the Yin Seal, doesn't she? If she has the same capacity as Tsunade, if not more, maybe they'll get the job done," she said. Kou flicked his tail and pulled over a cup of water with one of his paws, peering down the same direction she was.

"We'll have to wait and see."

Kou pushed the cup, both him and Sango erupting in laughter as it soaked a disgruntled looking passerby. Yori sighed.

 

**4 Days Until the Exam**

 

The first altercation of the exam came from a chance meeting four days before it officially started. Naruto and Sasuke were on their way to the training field when they nearly ran into two competitors from Suna: a blonde haired girl with four ponytails and a guy with purple face paint.

"Genin from Konoha, uh?" the guy noted, looking them up and down. "Guess we had to prepare for nothing."

Naruto bared his teeth and Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"There are lots of things to prepare for when takings tests like these. Visual stimulus, for example," the Uchiha mentioned casually. "Sometimes it's hard to concentrate on the task when your teammate's insides are spilling into his lap and you're the one who has to take care of the ones who did that to him."

The Suna shinobi exchanged wary looks and shifted.

Intimidation learned from Anko: 1. Suna nin: 0.

The one with the painted face let out a growl from deep within his lungs. He didn't like being pushed around by some brats and he had half a mind to knock them back into their places. But before he could touch the bandaged mass on his back, the air changed and his attention moved to the tree whose branches extended above the road.

And to the person standing on the underside of one of them.

"Kankuro, I don't suppose it's a good idea to start conflicts with the home nation," the latecomer noted quietly, everyone's eyes now trained on him. Kankuro sighed and retracted his puppet.

"Alright, alright, fine. But only because my level-headed baby brother asked so nicely. Where have you been?"

"Searching for someone. Temari, I thought you said you wouldn't cause trouble for the competition."

Temari jerked her head towards the two Konoha shinobi.

"We're not. Just sizing up the competition, which unfortunately doesn't look like much."

Naruto growled, but stopped himself before he had a chance to take anything too far. Count to ten and breathe; just like Iruka always told him. And only punch them if they talked for more then ten minutes, just like Mari-san whispered right after. He just had to wait four more minutes.

Sasuke eyed the stranger.

"What's your name?"

"Sabaku no Gaara," the red haired boy replied softly, his gaze gentle but guarded. He didn't look like trouble, but if he was able to appear out of thin air without so much a noise, then he was undoubtedly someone to watch out for. "These are my siblings, Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro. We're honored to compete in the Chuunin Exams."

Naruto frowned.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Uchiha Sasuke. We're honored to have you competing," he said, looking back to the two in front of him. "It's nice to see that at least one of you has manners."

"Don't need manners when you're dealing with children," Temari huffed. Naruto crossed his arms— two minutes until he could start punching.

"Children don't take the exam more than once, 'ttebayo," he hissed. "After the first time, 40% of all competitors retire with genin status."

"Guess that means you made a mistake," Kankuro grinned. Naruto glanced at Sasuke's watch before starting to roll up his black jacket sleeves. Ten minutes and people were still talking shit. 

"I'll beat you into the ground!"

"No, you won't!" a voice shouted from around the block. "I leave you two alone for a couple of hours and you're already fighting?! Geez, what is it with everyone lately?"

Naruto dropped his head while the person rounded the corner and stood at his side with her hands on her hips and a chastising expression.

"But _Sakura-chan_ ," he whined.

"Don't 'But Sakura-chan' me," she said, flicking his ear. He yelped and pushed Sasuke in front of him. "Just because people from other nations are visiting doesn't mean you can start fighting. And _you_ "— she reached over and flicked Sasuke's ear as well, earning her a grunt— "Don't encourage him!"

Kankuro and Temari grew more attentive at the arrival of the pink haired girl in an unfamiliar uniform. Was she their third teammate? Temari turned to look at Gaara and regard him with a silent question, but only her eyes widened when his whole face light up as he disappeared in a swirl of sand, only to reappear by Sakura's side.

Naruto jumped, Sasuke's hand immediately flew to his kunai holster, and both their jaws dropped when she grinned and threw her arm across the sand boy's shoulders.

"Gaara! Did you just get here?"

"Yes. I've been looking for you."

Sakura looked at her friend's dumbfounded siblings and smiled cheekily.

"I'm going to borrow your brother for the day if you don't mind," she said, then looked at her boys. "You two. No more trouble and I'll see you at Naruto's for dinner."

The remaining four watched the duo walk away for a moment, digesting what they witnessed and trying to piece together just exactly _how_ they could've known each other.

"The hell was that?! You— Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, wait!!"

 

**2 Days Until the Exam**

 

Torune found her in HQ, once again sitting on the railings of a walkway with her carefree grin and her lack of regard for her being in the heart of ROOT. He did approach her this time with a tilt to his head and his monotonous voice underlying gratitude.

"I didn't get the chance to thank you for what you did. Shino was very happy when I came home."

"It's no problem. If you need anything else, I'm not that hard to find."

He nodded once and went off to wherever he'd been going in the first place. When she could no longer pinpoint his exact location, she hopped onto the walkway and started walking down the maze-like corridors towards the Archives. She needed to look up how exactly the Kazekage's children measured up to their status in the other timeline.

On her way there, she passed numerous other operatives who all either acknowledged her as they passed or greeted her from behind their immaculate porcelain masks. Her effect on them was starting to bud, and a few more years of this would have them choosing her over Danzo any day.

"You've been making a lot of friends in the organization," someone observed from her left. Sakura looked up, seeing a familiar cat mask with red and green markings on the edges.

"You guys aren't half bad once you drop the stuffy fronts you need per regulation. I still have to wheedle names out of a few, though. Can't keep calling everyone by their mask animal."

"That's what you're supposed to do."

"I'm not very good at following rules, Kinoe-san."

Kinoe chuckled and followed her to the Archives. The guard in the room quietly addressed them both as they entered, allowing them to search the files and scroll shelves at their own volition. In the Sunagakure section, Sakura picked out the folder of the current Kazekage and started flipping through it. Kinoe peered over her shoulder.

"I thought you were already acquainted with his children."

"Just Gaara. His older siblings Temari and Kankuro, not so much," she said. "I just want to know what they're capable of. See Kankuro? An emerging puppet master. We don't see too many of those outside Suna's Puppet Brigade and even then those numbers get slimmer each year."

"Puppetry requires the most delicate chakra control and you know where the largest density lies."

"Konoha. But people like that are the reason we have such a large medical community compared to other nations. Not a bad thing, but definitely helped us get named the 'soft ones'."

Kinoe had always been intrigued at all the knowledge Sakura could hold in her small body. She was intelligent, wise, and clearly had the skill to keep up with it if she was able to maintain her duties at T&I, the Regular Forces, and keep behind the scenes at ROOT all with extra time to spare. Not to mention she had such an open, friendly personality that made him and many others forget she was just twelve years old. How she was able to manage it even under Danzo's influence, he'd never know, and he'd always been curious about it.

"Sakura-san, may I ask you something?"

She tucked the file away and moved on to the Iwagakure section.

"What's up?"

"What exactly are you doing at ROOT? I mean, what are your plans here?"

She paused briefly before continuing with her current task.

"Are you happy with the methods ROOT uses?" she asked suddenly. Kinoe was taken aback. "Don't you ever wonder what exactly you're doing for work here? Or are you ever tired of being kept in the dark for what you're dedicating your entire life to? Don't you _question_ any of it?"

From behind his mask, Kinoe's eyes were blown wide as he searched her face for what she was getting at.

"We're not at liberty to question Danzo-sama."

"Exactly!" she exclaimed as the papers in her hand were slammed onto the nearest table. "You guys don't question it because you're not supposed to, but I did because someone needs to."

Sakura's gaze burned in determination.

"I'm going to change that."

He blinked.

"... What do you mean? You're... going to change ROOT?"

"I'm not just going to change it," she smiled. "I'm going to rip it from the councilman's fingers."

She gathered her papers and strode out the Archives, Kinoe quickly trailing after her.

"You're going to _usurp_ —"

"Not usurp. I've already told him what I'm going to do and made it very clear what changes will be put in place. He named his successor when time comes for him to step down, and once I gain enough leverage against him, I'm going to do it immediately," she explained. She flashed him a grin when he stopped moving and started staring right through her. "I'm going to make a quick run to his office, so I'll see you later, Kinoe-san."

Speechless, he could only watch as she walked away. He didn't know if she was kidding or not, but he'd been gathering information on her for a very long time.

She probably wasn't.

And... she was going to be the one to take ROOT out of Danzo's control?

::

When the door opened and closed with a snap, Danzo was ready for the bout of stark the usually came with the one person who'd ever disrupt him in such a way— but it never started. Cautious, he raised his head to see Sakura plant her hands on the edge of his desk and lean forward.

"You need to be extra vigilant in these exams. Be on top of what you're on top of, no excuses."

He was instantly alarmed but didn't let it show.

"Why? Is something going to happen?"

She didn't admit to anything, keeping her lips pressed firmly shut. It was then he realized that if she broached upon the subject, she could be arrested for treason on the offense of holding knowledge that was _that_ strong and questionable. She narrowed her eyes.

"You signed your name in blood, as did I. I don't know what's going to happen exactly, but keep your eyes peeled."

She turned to leave, throwing one last look at him. Her glare was scathing enough to kill.

"You're in too deep to back out of your decision now, councilman. Trust me and you'll be prepared. Ignore me and regret it."

There was one more line in there, inconspicuous and threading through her teeth. It didn't need to be said, but it made Danzo lean back in his seat and think.

_Sell me out and I promise I'll be the last face you ever see._

 

**1 Day Before the Exam**

 

They'd finished the sweaters for his nin-dogs and now they were intent on making beanies for the boys. And Haku. Maybe Zabuza, but they weren't sure how he'd take to being handed something that was knitted with the idea of him in mind. So making them for the boys was probably the best idea.

They took their usual spots at separate ends of the couch at Kakashi's apartment, the blanket they'd first knitted draped over them as they quietly worked on their current project. Kakashi set down his needles and held up his half-finished beanie in the low light.

"Should I put a black stripe in the middle?"

Sakura's fingers kept moving to untangle a knot of lilac yarn as she glanced up. Her nose wrinkled.

"Then there wouldn't be enough orange."

"If I keep doing this the _whole thing_ will be orange."

"Good. Then it'll be just enough orange for Naruto," she said. He sighed and picked his needles back up. Naruto's orange obsession was only slightly difficult to deal with. They'd gotten him to wear a pure black jacket to better blend in with their surroundings, but he absolutely refused to get rid of his orange pants no matter how many times they tried. Sasuke was easier to deal with in terms of color because he always wore a darker scheme, but it seemed he completely forgone his blue color scheme and moved to violet. His short-sleeved hoodie was dark purple— nearly black— accented with with a lilac color that matched his shorts.

"If there's anything he loves more than orange, it's ramen."

"Then put a ramen patch on the side and he'll love you forever and cry into your vest so much that you'll have to scrub the snot out."

Kakashi's eye twitched.

"It took me two hours to do it last time. If it happens again, you'll be the one doing it," he grumbled.

"Show me your face and I'll do it for the rest of your life."

"No."

Sakura laughed and went to get started on Sasuke's beanie. Maybe she'd put a windmill shuriken patch on his, it being his favorite weapon for some odd reason.

But her face lost some of her cheer when she thought about the other timeline's Kakashi. The first one she knew and grew to admire and respect as one of the best shinobi she'd ever had the chance of knowing. That Kakashi... with all his strengths and flaws, she missed him, but she couldn't say she'd missed how much she disappointed him. 

She never got to really know that Kakashi, and she died thanking him for all the things she couldn't live up to.

She hoped it was enough.

But _this_ Kakashi... this Kakashi was so _different_ from him. He wasn't nice, was never late, and never smiled the smile that made his eyes crease and crinkle at the edges— but he was her friend here. They were sitting in his apartment, knitting beanies and talking like they didn't have any problems in the world.

This Kakashi was nothing like that one, and it saddened her to think she wouldn't have it any other way.

Kakashi must have noticed her disquieting thoughts and nudged her side with his foot, causing her to look up at his blank face.

"What are you worried about?" he questioned. Sakura sighed.

"Just about Naruto and Sasuke and the exams tomorrow. I know they'll do just fine, but I can't help thinking about it."

"They've trained two years for this," he said, going back to his knitting. "When the exams start tomorrow, they'll pass with the highest marks."

She rolled her shoulders and picked up her orange knitting needles. When the exams started, her plans would be put into motion, and everything would work out.

Tomorrow.


	64. Serpentine (1)

**_Part 1/2_ **

::

Gai took a few minutes to think to himself as he sat in the Jounin Standby Station, waiting for news that the first exam had begun. He snapped out of it when Asuma and Kurenai joined him, taking the seats opposite him.

"Good morning!" he greeted them. "Have you sent your youthful students off to the Academy building?"

"Yeah, and turns out they're really letting T&I loose on this exam. Kotetsu and Izumo asked to mess around with the candidates before the exams officially started and Hokage-sama agreed," Asuma sighed with the shake of his head. "A genjutsu masking the third floor and not letting the competitors pass? They're having real fun with it this year."

"It's only a D-rank genjutsu. Those who want to become Chuunin should be able to see and dispel it with little difficulty," Kurenai said. Gai brightened.

"Then perhaps it was done to show other nations our true youth!" he exclaimed, blinding his friends with the white brightness of his teeth.

"Put those away," someone droned. Kakashi walked up to them and sat beside his long time friend.

"Kakashi! You've just dropped off you genin too, I see!" Gai smiled as he picked up his water cup. "What are your thoughts on the exam?"

"Considering the first proctor, I'm not concerned. They'll pass," Kakashi replied simply. Asuma blew out a stream of smoke and laid back against the salmon colored seats.

"You think they'll be fine with that sadist?"

"Morino Ibiki isn't someone they haven't been exposed to before," he informed, much to the others' interest. "Our team had been over to his house many times."

Gai spit out all the water in his mouth.

"What!?"

"When you say it like that you make it sound like a bad thing," yet another new voice mused from above. Sakura dropped onto the plant fixture behind Kakashi's shoulders as she marked some things down on a clipboard. Gai tilted his head at her curiously. "What he means is that they come on my invitation and the old man just happens to be there sometimes."

Kurenai blinked several times.

"You _live_ with him?"

"He's been my legal guardian for the past four years," she clarified.

"It explains a lot," Kakashi commented. His eye twitched when she kicked the back of his head and stepped onto the linoleum floor.

"Anyway, sorry for the interruption, I'm just doing a count of all the jounin sensei," Sakura explained. "For security and stuff. By the way Kakashi, I ran into Momochi on the way here and he told me to tell you to meet him at the tea house when the exam's over—to talk about diplomacy or something."

"Fine, tell him I'll be there."

"Sure. The exam starts in ten minutes and will last a little over an hour, so try to find something to do other than being an asshole," she said. She waved to the other jounin before opening a window and hopping out. It was quiet between the four of them for a few moments before Asuma decided to break it.

"... It does explain a lot actually. Is she always this... quirky?"

"No."

Kakashi's eyes darkened.

"She's worse."

Gai—for once in a very long time—didn't immediately comment on Kakashi's laughable unfortunate circumstances. He kept a quiet gaze at the window Sakura left out of with a crease in his brow before his face was wiped to its usual jovial nature.

"Ah, Kakashi," he chided. "Sakura-san is just expressing her youth! What's so wrong about that?"

::

Sakura lounged on the roof of the Academy building with two other Military Police and someone from the Medical Unit. A muffled shout rang out from the room below and sighed.

"That was probably Naruto."

The Uchiha with gray hair tied in a high ponytail tilted his head in her direction.

"One of your old teammates?"

"Yup. He's got low impulse control," she grinned. "But you can't blame him. He only started after he saw me yell at an Academy teacher for intentionally giving him a bad grade. I don't know what happened to him, but I think he switched classes because I scared him off."

The medic-nin sitting cross-legged on the ledge scoffed and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"I've _seen_ the damage you can do, Haruno," he said. "He better have left before you really did something. Academy student or not, I'm positive you would've broken his kneecaps or something."

"Hey, that was the same threat I used on Shisui-san a week ago!"

The female Uchiha— the fourth security guard on the rooftop— groaned.

"Shisui? Don't get me started on that guy. He's an amazing shinobi and all, but him talking makes up for the fact over half the clan _doesn't_."

They laughed.

Sakura turned to look over the general vicinity as a new conversation sprung up about the best forms of weapon care and searched. From her time in ROOT, she trained herself to sense many of the members due to her being around them so much and learning the types of techniques they used to mask their chakra. Meaning, if she focused long enough, she would be able to trace the faintest trails they left behind— a skill she acquired during her time in the war.

But they weren't there. None of the ROOT operatives were not in their normal positions in accordance to the warning she gave Danzo.

She grit her teeth.

Her rage was interrupted by another shout from down below, more distinctive than the first and definitely matching Naruto's angry outbursts. This time she could make out a few words like "Not giving up" and "bullshit" and a very pronounced "dattebayo!".

Naruto learned early one that Ibiki wasn't as bad as the rumors painted him and started to address him the same way he did with all the adults he was comfortable with. Suffice to say, she got a swift chop to the head from the old man who told her to stop ruining his reputation with the younger generations.

"Yo, tidbit! Hold this for a sec."

Sakura caught a banner flung her way. It was brown with roughly done calligraphy of Anko's name hastily painted in white ink. She glanced up at her sensei, unimpressed.

"This is overkill."

"This is a grand entrance!" Anko parried. "All those shits in that room who passed will know my name and fear me, got it? Now watch and learn how a pro does it."

And she watched as a grown woman snatched the banner from her hands, readied herself a distance away from the building, and launched herself through the window while screaming: "WHO'S READY FOR THE SECOND PART OF THE EXAM?!", soon followed by: "THE FUCK? IBIKI, WHY'S THERE SO MANY OF THEM THAT PASSED?!"

Sakura winced at the sheer volume of her voice and slowly backed away from the roof ledge.

"I'm going to make my report now," she said to the other guards. The medic-nin waved her off.

"Just be sure to tell Hokage-sama that Mitarashi destroyed public property," he replied. He paused as an afterthought drifted by. "Again."

She mentally outlined her oral report on her way to the Hokage Tower, trying to figure how to happily inform the Hokage that Anko broke _another_ window from a _different_ building. But once her hand raised to push open the door to the Tower, she made a decision to skirt around and enter ROOT HQ instead. She made her usual path, greeted every operative she came across, and threw Danzo's office door open so forcefully that it cracked the wall and nearly ripped off its hinges.

He wasn't in.

In fact, it looked as if he hadn't been in his office for days.

"That _bastard_ ," Sakura hissed.

::

Uchiha Fugaku was a busy man. Along with being the Clan Head who had demands to carry out and an image to uphold, he was the Commissioner General of the Military Police Force. Between both jobs, it left little time for other matters like family or sleep. Most of the time with those two, he had to pick one or the other.

He usually chose the former.

As he stepped outside the Police building, he noticed a slight movement in the corner of his eyes and turned his head towards the entrance of the compound, sharingan blazing beneath his brown bangs. Nothing. He frowned and shunshinned towards it, looking right and left for anything suspicious.

Still nothing. All he could see was a fresh coat of paint on the walls. He snorted— finally his request for upkeep was pushed through despite it not being the best of times to do so.

Perhaps he was being paranoid. That, or the lack of sleep was finally getting to him. But his frown deepened as he want back to the station; he would place guards there over the next few days in case his wariness didn't go unfounded.

::

The second exam started a week later, a week where Sakura spent nearly all her time holed up in Ibiki's office to help him fix up tens of stacks of documents that came with the end of the first exam. She realized two things during that time.

One: sugar and caffeine were cruel gods.

Two: paperwork was the creation of the devil.

But those days were gone for her at least. Ibiki just about kicked her out when they both realized they'd been working from morning to morning, him telling her that even an insomniac like her should get some rest after being awake for 72 hours straight. So here she was now, hiding among the dark thicket of trees at the edge of Training Ground 44, peering at the competitors alongside numerous other shinobi guards.

"Alright, maggots!" Anko shouted from below. "These papers being passed around are liability forms, so sign your names and hand it back to the desks here up front!"

"Liability?" one of the 78 remaining genin asked. Anko grinned.

"If any one of you brats die, it won't be Konoha's fault," she sang— horribly, as her tone-deaf self would. Most of the guards cringed while a good chunk of the other genin shivered. "And it'll give us enough information to ship your bodies back in pretty little coffins if you do. Why do you think the papers ask for your _measurements_?"

Sakura looked up the whisper of her name and saw Obito gazing down at her from a few branches up. He'd been slated to the same security assignment as her.

"You didn't pick up her crazy too, did you?" he questioned seriously. She smothered a laugh and looked back down at the scene unfurling below her. She scanned and scanned and scanned, but Orochimaru was nowhere in the crowd. Her eyes hardened and her smile became strained.

"Maybe just a bit."

She and the rest of the guards watched as Anko raised her arm with two fingers pointed towards the sky and left to man the sections they were assigned to before their shifts started. Sakura retreated to the interior near the center of the Tower and settled in a place by the door at five o'clock.

The exam would last for eleven days. The guard shifts were in rotations of twelve hour periods: twelve on site, twelve on break. It was generous but no one had the gall to complain. Besides, they weren't the ones taking the test. Why should they suffer?

As she glanced at her field watch, Yori climbed onto her shoulder from the bark of a nearby tree.

"All the other scorpion summons are in their positions," he informed. "And Sasori-san just received the timetable for rotations. He'll be able to avoid every Konoha nin."

"Good, thanks. It'll get pretty boring here, though. If it's anything like last time, the first ones who pass should be here in a few hours," she said. Yori's tail swayed.

"That soon?"

"Gaara is very... formidable," she explained with a smile. "He might not be as bloodthirsty this time, but he's more than qualified to take these exams. Now."

She grinned and pulled out a deck of cards from her uniform jacket. 

"Want to play gin rummy while we wait?"

Sakura didn't necessarily need to pay attention to what type of trouble the competing teams would be getting into and she wasn't worried. Team Seven had trained for this and would get a promotion this time. As for the other teams... maybe their luck and skill set would be on their side. It worked for them well enough in the other time.

What she _did_ happen to do, though, was make another name for herself among the jounin who guarded the area. During their breaks were many of them sat outside the grounds to wait for their shirts, they eventually grew board by the third day and started a small gambling ring. And of course she had to join; it felt like her obligation to put everyone else in their place with the skills she perfected under Tsunade in her last life and over the years of gambling and bar betting in this life when she had to earn money without a shinobi's income.

By the eleventh day, she gained over 7,000 ryo, the tears of her comrades, a _shannaro_ victory cry, and the nickname "Mongoose".

Mongoose. Like the animal. Petite in size, social, cat-like, and an excellent hunter— a hunter that was able to snatch the money from their wallets without trying.

But back to the exam.

Seven teams managed to pass and, to Sakura's interest and discomfort, it was the exact same set of teams that succeeded last time even if they arrived in a different order. Team Baki was first and arrived within hours of starting the exam, Team Kakashi arrived the next afternoon. Team Gai on day five, Team Kurenai on day seven, Team Dosu on day eight, and both Team Asuma and Team Kabuto on day ten.

Sakura surveyed the remaining twenty-one genin that arranged themselves before the Godaime. She hid on the ceiling beams above the tower's arena along with a one other guard who was interest enough to see who would pass on to the actual finals.

"Are we even allowed to be up here?" Obito whispered from across from her. She fixed him with a blank stare.

"You're seriously asking that now? _After we snuck in through the roof?_ "

She started at the horror in his face for a moment— but not his eyes, she couldn't do that for long periods of time yet— before her cheeks puffed out and she looked back down below.

"Just kidding. We're still security, just in an unorthodox area," she said. "And these wood beams are sturdy, so why not?"

"I'm still wondering where these came from because this arena absolutely didn't have beams the last time I was here. Which was yesterday."

Sakura made a motion for him to lower his voice.

"I have a friend who's good at carpentry."

"That can put big-ass beams on the ceiling in one day?"

"Shh, Hokage-sama's talking!" she hushed. Obito merely shook his head with a smile, knowing fully well he wouldn't get answer out of her and looked down at the arena. The proctors and other T&I members were lined at either side of the Hokage while the sensei of the teams who passed stayed in a straight line near the back. 

Orochimaru wasn't there.

"Before I begin, I'd like to take the time to explain the true purpose of these exams, " Dan began. "Why do nations conduct these exams? Not just the allies, but with the neutrals as well? Because raising levels of friendship among one another is the primary goal here, despite personal feelings we may have."

Kakashi, in the line of genin sensei, stood his ground through a sudden flashback of explosions, falling metal, and the anguished cries of his students. His forehead scrunched up slightly at the thought before he forcefully shoved it to the back of his head and kept listening to the Hokage.

"These exams are like a microcosm of battles between the nations, so to speak. Throughout history, instead of trying to decimate each other's forces, a place of battle was selected and certain shinobi were picked to engage. Time passes and those battles would soon come to be known as the Chuunin Exams. People all over the world _had_ watched and _will_ watch. The ones who present a certain..." Dan paused to consider the right word, "unbridgeable power then represent the nations in which job offers will steadily flow."

Sakura saw his crystal blue eyes flicker in her direction for a fraction of a second before he warmly regarded the genin that stood before him.

"Using that, pressure is exerted on the weaker nations to become stronger and pass the standard the the exams set every year," he said. Kiba frowned from where he stood.

"So we have to fight for our lives because of this?" the Inuzuka questioned. Akamaru quivered as he pressed himself against his partner's chest, whimpering quietly and trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. The red haired Suna boy was scaring him no matter how kind he looked.

Dan nodded.

"The nation's strength is the village's strength. The village's strength is the shinobi's strength. And a shinobi's true strength is created from fighting for one's life!" he declared. Sakura saw the awe in many of the genin's expression and looked away for a while, eyes downcast and full of shame. "This exam is created to measure the strength of a country's home shinobi. The first two tests were a precursor to this— the real exam. The real fight."

His eyes swept over the remaining candidates.

"This is where is all begins. Good luck. I'll leave the rest to the proctor of the third exam: Shiranui Genma!"

Genma stepped up after a respectful bow and began to talk about the stipulations of what was about to happen next. 

Back up on the beams, Obito raised his head to make a comment, stopping when he saw the disgrace painted on her skin.

_A shinobi's true strength is created from fighting for one's life._

He wanted to tell her he was sorry. To tell her that he wished she grew up loving herself instead of wanting to die because of what his look-alike did to her. To tell her that she was worth getting help, worth getting better, _worth living_.

Obito wanted to tell her she was worth everything she thought she wasn't.

But he couldn't. Not after seeing that look on her face.

"Only half of you will move onto the next round, and these preliminaries will determine just who will be the ones to do that," Genma said, bringing Obito's attention back downwards. "You'll be fighting a randomly generated opponent and will keep fighting  until one surrenders or one can't fight any longer. Now there's twenty-one of you, so one of you lucky brats get to—"

Someone from a Konoha team raised their hand. The silver-haired one with the round glasses.

"Excuse me, I would like to withdraw," he smiled. Obito blinked. He looked at Sakura again to see that she was peering curiously at the candidate, all traces of her earlier feelings washed away. So she thought it was strange too.

"That's Yakushi Kabuto," Sakura informed quietly. "If I read his file correctly, this is his seventh time competing and he'd never made it this far before."

"Seven? That's kind of a ridiculous number."

"Tell me about it. It also said that he trains at the Konoha hospital most of the time," she said, narrowing her eyes. "That also gives a hint that he can control his chakra better than average. Why would he quit?"

Obito shrugged and adjusted his sitting position.

"If he's studying to be a medic-nin, maybe he wasn't anticipating to be in the preliminaries. Medics aren't too skilled at offensive techniques because they're the ones who need to be the least injured, but they're incredible at avoidance and defense. Maybe he thinks he can't make it that way," he suggested. At his distraction over the odd genin, Sakura moved her hand down to her pocket and tapped a message in morse code.

-.- .- -... ..- - --- .-.-.- / - --- -. .. --. .... - .-.-.- / .--. .-. . .--. .- .-. . .-.-.-

_Kabuto. Tonight. Prepare._

Yori quickly received it and crawled out of her pocket to find Sasori and Hidan.

::

Back at the arena, all the genin along with their sensei had been ushered to the above ground viewing platforms to wait for the first assignments. Much to Kurenai's and Asuma's continuous shock, their genin had smooshed together with Kakashi's into one large, nine-person group and were talking amongst each other. Even Gai's genin weren't too far away from them, lending an ear every now and then.

"They were in the same Academy class before Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura graduated," Kakashi informed blandly.

"They're all good friends?"

"Apparently."

The randomizer high up on one of the walls suddenly activated. Names lit up and started flashing for a few seconds before the first two genin were decided.

**Uchiha Sasuke v. Akado Yoroi**

Sasuke grunted and leapt over the railing and onto the stone floor as his opponent, Yoroi, descended down the stairs. Yoroi was dressed in mostly purple with a loose mask covering his face and a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes. He was noticeably larger and older than Sasuke was, but all that mattered in battles like this was cultivation of skill. No one deserved to be underestimated.

Though Yoroi, on the other hand, had a completely different thought pattern as he observed the twelve year old who didn't bother to wear his clan colors of blue, black, or white. The boy was bold— big whoop.

_How special could he be that Orochimaru wanted him?_

The took opposite sides of the stadium. Genma stepped in the middle with his hand outstretched and his gaze moving from side to side.

"No holding back. A surrender is a loss. Being unable to continue is a loss," he reminded. "Ready?"

Yoroi flexed his fingers. Sasuke cracked his neck.

"Begin!"

Yoroi charged first. His hands glowed blue as he swiped at Sasuke as quick as he could. Left, right up, down, horizontal, vertical, diagonal— it was a mess of carefully calculated movements that Sasuke avoided with ease. This was nothing compared to what he had to suffer those couple years ago in Wave. There were far more of them last time and the had a bloodlust that clogged his throat.

But his opponent managed to swipe his fingers against some of Sasuke's hair for a moment, and that was all the latter needed to figure out why he'd been attacked so quickly. His hair being barely touched resulted in a small fraction of his strength escaping him like he was being drained.

' _He absorbs energy,_ ' Sasuke realized as he dodged another hand and jumped backwards. ' _I can't make physical contact with his skin. Either way, I'll have to end this soon._ '

His hands flew through a series of seals as his eyes bled into the standard three-pronged sharingan.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

A grand fireball erupted from his lips and towards his opponent. Yoroi met the technique with one of his own; a water jutsu soared towards the fire and collided with enough force for the whole bottom arena to be covered in a thin layer of mist. Uncaring of the visible disadvantage, Sasuke charged in headfirst and lashed out a quick side kick to try and get Yoroi to meet his eye—

_'The mist looks like the one on the bridge. The one where Sakura almost died.'_

—he faltered slightly and ducked, Yoroi's hand barely skimming his skin and drawing out a little more of his energy. The Uchiha exhaled sharply, feeling his rage rising against all the anger management techniques he employed before starting the exam. The drawings, the breathing exercises, the punching bag in his room that he ripped to shreds...

He faced his opponent and bared his teeth.

' _Screw it. He's going to be my punching bag today._ '

Without warning, he distracted Yoroi with a simple D-rank genjutsu as he dove to the ground, spun on his hands, and landed and anger-infused kick to the underside of his opponent's chin so strong that the _crack_ echoed in everyone's ears. But he wasn't done yet.

Sasuke launched himself onto the railing near where Naruto stood— earning himself a shout— and vaulted higher in the air until he met the wooden beams on the ceiling. Then with a war cry, he pulsed chakra into his feet and shot down at Yoroi with bullet speed, his heel aiming for the other's chest.

It met its target and practically broke his sternum.

"SHANNARO!"

Yoroi was slammed into the stone floor, head meeting the ground so harshly that Sasuke was sure he'd fractured the other's skull in a number of places as he fell unconscious. Sasuke stood and let a medical team rush over and quickly tend to the bloody remains of his opponent.

Genma raised a straight arm.

"Winner: Uchi— _pfft—_ Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the proctor, but Genma just waved his hands as small bouts of laughter left his lips. He grew even more incredulous at the sound of Naruto's laughter and looked up, seeing his idiot of a friend grasping the railing for dear life as he laughed so hard that he started _crying_. Strangely enraged, he stomped back up the steps and loomed over his teammate.

"What's so funny?" he snapped.

"You- You just- you just," Naruto heaved, gasping for air and laughing at the same time. "You just yelled  _shannaro_ , 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke cheeks immediately went bright red.

"I didn't."

His now black eyes shot to Kakashi, his whole face now glowing red at the sight of his sensei covering his mouth with one hand and avoiding eye-contact with him.

"I didn't," he repeated furiously. "You were imagining it."

He twisted around to his other genin friends who were somewhere on the spectrum between Kakashi's silent amusement and Naruto's howls of laughter. If it were possible, he went even redder.

" _I didn't_!"

::

Sakura let a tear run down her cheek.

"Sasuke, following in my footsteps," she sniffed. "Aw, look how embarrassed he is! I need to take a picture! Do you think Itachi-san would want a copy? I think he'd want a copy."

Obito chuckled and watched the randomizer light up again.

::

**Abumi Zaku v. Aburame Shino**

Shino received many claps on the back and murmurs of encouragement from his friends as he went down the stairs and onto the battleground. Zaku, on the other hand, grinned arrogantly as he descended the opposite flight of stairs as he took his place. His arms were wrapped after sustaining a small injuries through the messes of teams they went through to get here, but no matter. He wouldn't let that bother him.

"We'll start the second match," Genma announced, eyeing the bandages wrapped around Zaku's arms. "Ready?"

"Are you in sustainable condition to fight?" Shino inquired. Zaku clicked his tongue as he shakily slid one arm out of a sling, poising it in front of him.

"One arm is enough to take you down!" the sound-nin growled. Genma's outstretched arm retracted.

"Begin!"

Zaku charged with his free hand swinging to connect with the right side of Shino's head, but the latter blocked it without difficulty, not sparing so much as a grunt when their arms clashed.

"You can't defeat me with one arm."

"Watch!"

There was a small metal circle implanted in the center of Zaku's palm made for the use of certain types of jutsu: ones that related to sound or vibrations. The circle hummed for a second before an intense explosion of noise propelled Shino to the ground.

"Zankūha!"

The blow should have knocked Shino unconscious and maybe tore his eardrums to shreds, but he merely pushed himself back onto his feet as a buzzing sound fell over the arena. Zaku, struck, looked all around him for the source until his eyes fell on his opponent's face. The small holes had opened up in the skin beneath Shino's eyes as a mass of black insects crawled out.

Chouji tilted his head thoughtfully from his place on the platform.

"I think he got a new colony," he said. Zaku took a step back. _Colony?_

"What type of shit are you trying to pull?" he hissed. He couldn't see any indication of an answer, but he did turn to look over his shoulder when the buzzing grew louder and louder and louder. Behind him, the hive manifested itself in one, pitch black entity.

"Nothing," Shino answered. "All intents of attacking you are very much tangible."

Zaku readied his palm again by extending it in front of him. The bugs were disgusting, but what could they do? Intimidate him? He was a loyal shinobi to Orochimaru through and through and a stupid brat's magic trick wasn't going to cut jack shit from him.

"Zankū—"

He stopped when a surging pain flared in his skin and his jutsu wouldn't come to fruition. Zaku slowly twisted his palms where he could see it, eyes going wide at the sight of bugs clogging his pathways.

"I asked if you were in suitable condition to fight," Shino said. He shunshinned behind his opponent and clocked the side of his face to send him crashing into the ground. "You didn't have to lie."

Genma stepped in.

"Winner: Aburame Shino!"

Haku tapped Naruto's shoulder and cast him a questioning glance.

"How does he control insects like that?" he asked. Naruto thought for a few seconds with his chin sat on the railing.

"So, it's something like this, right?" the Uzumaki began. The Konoha jounin turned their attention to him. "When people in the Aburame Clan are born, they get their own sets of bugs to take care of. In exchange for using them in battle, the bugs get to live in their host's bodies while... eating their chakra?"

"That's how Shibi-san explained it," Shikamaru added with a yawn. "But if you want more of the details, you can ask Shino himself. Or talk to Sakura. You know her better."

The fact that the genin had been able to get to know the details of such a reclusive clan and actually come into contact with their equally reclusive _Clan Head_ meant that they'd actually done a better job at clan relations than their parents had. Then again, it was also unheard of for members of most of Konoha's prominent clans to be on such a friendly basis to the point where they could start sharing clan techniques.

Gai peered at his comrade's faces, seeing a similar realization cross their faces. Asuma and Kurenai looked like they had to do more digging in their team's relationships with each other, but Kakashi looked like he already knew.

What _did_ his old friend know, exactly? 

After Shino climbed back up the steps, his friends and Kurenai readily congratulated him on his win.

::

"Uchiha-san."

"What's up, Sakura?"

"Remind me to buy some winter melon candies after we leave," she said. The randomizer flashed after Zaku had been carried away on a stretcher.

::

**Tsurugi Misumi v. Sabaku no Kankuro**

"That guy..." Sasuke murmured, staring at the randomizer. "The one we met before the exams started?"

"That's the asshole," Naruto huffed.

Tsurugi Misumi was the last remaining member of Team Kabuto. The mask over his face greatly resembled Yoroi's, but his round-rimmed glasses made him appear more like Kabuto. By the time Kankuro made his way to stand across from him, he unlatched the bandaged mass from his back and propped it up beside him.

"I'll be sure to end this quickly," he sneered. Misumi narrowed his eyes.

"I won't let you do a damn thing."

Genma raised his arm.

"Begin!"

::

Sakura watched with interest as Misumi made the first move by slamming his forearm into Kankuro's, then using some elasticity technique to wrap his limbs around the Sand-nin's arms, legs, and neck to leave him immobile. She didn't pay too much attention to this fight in the other timeline because before it was over in a snap and was rather uninteresting, but now she could see why she thought so.

While Misumi's technique was unique, it was a less effective offensive tactic. Though he would be able to bind his opponent to the point of stillness, bones were breakable and he would've been better off if he wasn't alone if he used it.

Kankuro's neck snapped and he went limp, but both Sakura and Obito were unperturbed.

"Puppet?" he asked. 

"Puppet," she affirmed with a nod. Misumi was taken aback when the entity he thought was Kankuro jerkily twisted it's head, a wooden eye eerily peering at him through the broken remains of the "Kankuro" mask.

"You've had your fun," the puppet informed through the cracked lips of the mask. "Now it's my turn. Isn't that great?"

Six spindly arms came out of the puppets side to full entrap Misumi's body and squeeze him to the point where he could feel his spine threatening to break. The real Kankuro came out of the white bindings and smiled and Misumi fell over from his inability to move.

"Didn't I tell you I'd end this quickly?"

Genma called it there.

"Winner: Sabaku no Kankuro!"

::

**Haku v. Yamanaka Ino**

When the randomizer showed her name along with the genin from Kirigakure, Ino knew she was screwed. Haku was the one who'd been on that unfortunate mission to Wave with Team Seven, and if he was anything like Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura in general, then he was way out of her league and there was no point in fighting him in the first place.

But she made her way down to the arena anyways and stood her ground as Haku took his place in front of her. If he was fast, she couldn't use her Shintenshin to take over his consciousness and have him surrender. She could always trap him and force the technique onto him— but then again, if his speed was too great, then she couldn't use any mind tricks.

Genma looked at the two competitors.

"Ready?"

Both Ino and Haku nodded once and he lifted his hand.

"Begin!"

Her hands immediately went for her senbon glazed in paralytic poison, but Haku had already gone through the hand seals of ox-snake-ram and opened his mouth, expelling a cloud of mist that veiled the entire first floor of the arena. 

Ino could see nothing, and neither could the spectators.

"You use poisoned senbon too?" Haku questioned. His voice floated over to her from all directions. "It's not too often you see something like that in Konoha, but you probably should've tried to attack me with the them before I used this technique."

"A mistake on my part," she admitted. She spun around once and unleashed a ring of senbon to try and catch Haku unawares, but failed when his soft voice popped up again.

"Ah, you missed. And I don't think you should try your sensing technique for this one. This mist is created with my chakra, therefore holds the same signature as I do. You can try to use it, but you won't find me."

Ino did try and she didn't find him.

"If I don't give, you're probably just going to knock me out too, huh?"

"Yes."

She sighed and pocketed the rest of her senbon. She knew a loss when she saw one and Haku was far too advanced for her to even get a hit in on him— that and there were six other fights she wanted to watch.

"I surrender!" she shouted into the mist. Genma's voice echoed back to her.

"Winner: Haku!"

::

"That's the first surrender of the day," Obito commented. He watched as the mist then disappeared as quickly as it came with Haku standing in the exact same place he had been when the match started. "I think that was a good idea too. That Kiri kid is currently being trained by Momochi Zabuza, right? No offense, but I think he would've ripped her to shreds if given the chance."

Sakura remembered Sasuke's near death in the other time due to Haku's incredible prowess.

"At least we're not enemies," she said. "Then we could've had real problems."

::

**Tenten v. Sabaku no Temari**

Genma clacked his senbon between his teeth a few times before looking back and forth between the two kunoichi making their way down to the floor. He was surprised to find that the Sand shinobi were on a whole different league than what he was expecting, but these were also the Kazekage's three children. They were bound to have some form of specialized training one way or another.

"Do your best, Tenten!" Lee cheered. Tenten didn't acknowledge him, as she was locked in a silent stare off with the Kazekage's eldest. What was that on her back? A fan? Wind-natured, then.

Genma lifted his arm and stepped back.

"Begin!"

Tenten's eyes as she jumped backwards to lengthen the gap between them. Temari hadn't made any movement yet, but her aura had changed so suddenly that her only instinct was to avoid whatever would come her way. Lee's rocketing cries of encouragement could be heard to everyone until Sasuke hissed a scathing _quiet_ in his direction.

But other than that, the two who were supposed to be fighting had yet to start a first attack.

"You've got to start sooner or later," Genma piped up. "So like I said: begin."

"You're waiting for me to make my move?" Temari smirked. She took one step forward, and Tenten took one step back. "A useless tactic. Once I start, you'll be over in a second. It won't matter what you do— come at me!"

Tenten steadied herself and reached to her waist to pull out a scroll.

"Your words, not mine!"

She leapt in the air and spun until the length of the scroll unraveled and encased the space around her body. Weapons of all types fly towards their target— kunai, shuriken, tantos, sickles— but none of them made their mark. They scattered themselves around Temari's feet as they dripped with some sort of odd liquid that smelled like...

The sand-nin's eyes widened as she grabbed the base of her fan and opened it to two thirds of the way, showing a pair of purple circles in its center.

... it smelled like _gasoline_!

The scroll in Tenten's hands retracted as she threw her last weapon: a kunai with an explosive tag tied to the end.

"Take this!"

The tower rocketed with an enormous explosion.

::

"Holy shit..." Sakura murmured, her eyes gleaming. "That was the flashiest move so far and it was awesome."

Obito was a little less enthralled as he smacked at the bit of his pant leg that caught on fire.

::

But the smoke that shrouded the fight was soon blown away by a gust of wind. Temari, covered in soot and scratches, had a grimace on her face. She hadn't expected that stupid little stunt and she wasn't about to let that girl ruin her chances at advancing to the finals.

"I'm done fooling around with you!" she growled. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"   

Temari opened her fan to it's full extent and swung it twice, hurling a gale of chakra-coated wind her opponent's way. Tenten was instantly enveloped— air currents colliding around her and carrying her mid-air as countless invisible carved shallow cuts all over her body. When the wind dissipated and her body careened towards the ground, Temari extended her fan's hilt out to catch her by the spine.

Genma intervened then.

"Winner: Sabaku no Temari!"

Kiba recoiled a bit at the blood that spilled from Tenten's mouth.

"Hey... isn't that a bit much?"

"No," Sasuke replied. He crossed his arms and felt the stares of the other Konoha-nin. "You heard what Hokage-sama said earlier; these exams are a power show. Sunagakure and Konoha have been measuring each other up for a long time."

To their collective surprise, Naruto shared his teammate's sentiment.

"I don't like it, but..." he paused and thought of the sight of Sakura killing the missing-nin who ambushed them on their way to Wave. "I'm kinda surprised Sabaku didn't do more."

But he felt like he should've retracted that statement when Temari just chucked Tenten onto the ground and started to walk way. There it was— that subtle brutality that came with being neutrals and not allies and having a silent war of who would end up on top.

"Tenten!" Lee cried, leaping down into the arena.

::

"Is it just me or does that kid look absolutely suspiciously like Maito Gai?" Obito asked as he watched Lee onto the battle floor to help his fallen teammate. Sakura lit up at the sight of him standing up for Tenten.

"He's on Maito-san's team and trains in taijutsu just like his sensei, so don't be surprised if he grows up just like him."

Gai was able to mediate Lee and Temari before anything serious started, allowing the randomizer to flicker on again.

::

**Tsuchi Kin v. Nara Shikamaru**

"Me," Shikamaru mumbled. "Come on, what a drag."

Ino punched his side before pushing him towards the stairs.

"Stop complaining, get down there, and win!" she ordered. He let out a deep sigh and sauntered down into the arena while muttering how troublesome everything was all the way down. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he regarded his opponent with blank eyes. 

"You could give up now," Kin smirked. He sighed again and Genma made his call.

"Begin!"

Shikamaru's hands melded into a rat seal.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" he called out. His shadow surged forward to try and catch Kin's shadow, but she did well enough to dash to the side and avoid it as he shot a pair of senbon towards his head. He ducked to avoid it, turning to see a small silver bell attached to the end of each one. He expected her to send another bout his way with a mix of one with bells and one without so that he wouldn't hear some of the ones in the batch.

But he could be wrong. He knew he was smart, but that just meant he could be presumptuous in his assumptions sometimes.

So Shikamaru kept his mouth shut.

"Nothing to say?" she taunted. Wires became visible in her hands as she tugged, the bells behind him ringing loud in his inner ear. The gears in his head started to turn once Kin's image started multiplying and he couldn't tell which one was the real one any longer.

"I'm trapped in a genjutsu," he winced, the ringing growing in his ears. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"It's what happens to anyone who hears my bells. You won't be able to do anything, will you? Your shadow doesn't know where to go. You don't know where to look," she grinned. Kin took out three more senbon and threw them, the metal lodging in Shikamaru's forearm and shoulder. "I'll draw this out slowly so that your loss will be more humiliating."

He blinked at her.

"Or," he said. She narrowed her eyes.

"Or?"

"Or you could be the only to lose instead. It'll be less troublesome," he continued. The genjutsu abruptly ended as Kin's arm was forced to her side. Shikamaru stood and gestured to the wire and the thin shadow that was cast beneath it.

"Wires can't have shadows at this height," he explained at her angry scowl. "You should've noticed that."

He reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a single shuriken, Kin doing the same. Her eyes widened.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed. "If you throw this, it'll be over for the both of us, you idiot!"

Shikamaru chucked it at her— Kin mimicking him and launching her own— and bent backwards to avoid getting hit. As he landed on his hands, the back of Kin's head smacked against the stone walls.

"I'm not an idiot," he replied to her now unconscious body, flipping back onto his feet. "I just knew how far away you were from the wall."

::

"...Did he just yawn after his fight?" Obito asked.

"Shikamaru's as lazy as they come," Sakura sighed. "Won't do anything willingly that doesn't involve cloud-watching, shogi, or sleeping."

::

**Uzumaki Naruto v. Inuzuka Kiba**

The randomizer spouted out two more names.

As Naruto saw his name light up on the board, he and Kiba shared a nod and took the opposite sides of the floor. Waiting around for Genma to start the match, his mind drifted off to a conversation he had with Sakura months ago, a little after she finally found a hobby.

_Naruto sat in Sakura's living room with a plate of freshly baked cookies in his hands. Sasuke couldn't hang out them them, unfortunately, saying something along the lines of his father making him stay at the compound for clan business the rest of the week._

_Sakura pointed to the whiteboard she still had yet to return to the Academy and gestured with her marker._

_"You have four strong points in battle, Naruto."_

_"... You really did steal that whiteboard huh, Sakura-chan?"_

_"You have four strong points in battle, Naruto," she repeated. He stuck his tongue out before really considering what she just told him._

_"Four? I thought I only have three: stamina, chakra level, and close use," he said. Sakura turned back to the board to write down a bulleted list of his strengths._

_"You did, but over training you've started to utilize stealth. If you practice it more consciously, you can start attributing it to your speed. Remember the kunai I gave you for your tenth birthday?"_

_Naruto thought tot he set of kunai hanging on his wall next to his nightstand that held up his bonsai tree wrapped in a red scarf._

_"Yeah. What about them?"_

Genma raised an arm to start the match as Naruto readied his hands.

"Begin!"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Ten clones appeared and charged at Kiba at an alarmingly quick speed. All of them brandished regular kunai and swiped at their opponent's head with silent, deadly accuracy. Listening to the fight and hearing a normally obnoxious boy go quiet at the drop of the pin made many of the spectators start to regard him more closely.

Kiba managed to claw at the clones with some struggle as he reached into his back pouch and pulled out a small red pill.

"Akamaru!" he barked. The dog yipped before rounding the fight and catching the pill in his mouth. Suddenly, he burst into smoke and turned into an exact copy of Kiba. Both their eyes turned to slits and matching growls emanated from their throats.

Naruto flipped open his kunai pouch.

_Sakura capped her marker with the smile she used whenever she was planning something._

_"We're going to meet a friend of mine tomorrow," she said, picking up one of the cookies. "His name's Namiashi Raido. He used to be on the Yondaime Hokage's Guard Platoon with Genma, and we're going to teach you how to use those kunai."_

He wiped the sweat from his brow then summoned another ten clones to keep up the offensive. There was no problem using that technique, He was still far from perfecting it, but he had to try it out on an actual opponent to see if he could utilize it in a tricky situation.

When he pulled out a pair of three-pronged kunai and twirled them on his fingers, the air around him bloomed into shocked whispers coming from the higher-ranked spectators.

"No way—"

"Are those—"

"How did—"

"When could he—"

Naruto paid them no mind. Their words didn't matter.

He had a match to win.

Kiba charged though the clones with an animalistic snarl and started sprinting across to the other side of the arena where the real Naruto and two of his clones had taken refuge.

_'One shot, one shot,'_ Naruto chanted internally. _'I've got one shot to make this right... but what if I try...?'_

When Kiba was halfway across the stadium, Naruto threw one of his kunai. It was too far to hit his friend in the face and he side-stepped to avoid getting grazed— just as Naruto expected— and once it made it a fraction past his ear, Kiba watched as a tanned hand formed the Seal of Confrontation.

Then disappeared.

The next thing anyone knew or barely moved to comprehend, Naruto had both kunai in his hands again as he landed on Kiba's back and hit the pressure point on the base of his neck, rendering him unconscious. His clones had tackled Akamaru and turned him back to his dog form, locked in their arms and trying to bite and wiggle to escape.

Genma was one of the first to regain his bearings and cleared his throat.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto hefted himself onto his feet, tripping and bumbling and spinning over nothing for so long that Kakashi had to eventually drop down in the area, pick him up by the scruff of his jacket, then bring him up to the platform where the boy slumped against the wall. 

Kakashi crouched down beside him.

"Where did you learn that technique?" he questioned.

"Raido-s-sa-san is veeerrrry hel-pel-fel-ful," Naruto slurred. His eyes were swirling. "Why's everythin' so re-vo-lo-vol-ving- _HURK_!"

Kakashi stepped away fast enough to avoid having throw up on his sandals. Naruto fell to the side and sprawled himself out face down.

"I'mma... I'mma nap a... 'lil..."

::

Obito was still in sheer awe at what Naruto had managed to do after Kiba had been sent to the infirmary and Naruto had fainted from the dizziness he sustained from using a space/time ninjutsu. That was the Yondaime's technique. Minato-sensei's technique. And his legacy was learning it.

"To think he'd pick it up..." he murmured. Sakura, deciding to play the game knowing well enough to what he was alluding to, cocked her head.

"What are you talking about?"

He noticed his slip up and shook his head.

"Nothing. It's just that the jutsu he used is S-ranked and I didn't expect a genin to have clearance on it," he said. Obito observed her accusingly. "You had something to do with it, didn't you?"

She smiled.

She didn't even deny it.

::

Hinata nervously fiddled with the tips of her fingers. The five people she was left to fight were people she'd rather not have to engage in battle with. Chouji was her friend, Lee was extremely nice, the Sound-nin looked to be as volatile as his last two teammates, the Sand-nin was probably as powerful as his teammates, and Neji...

She really, _really_ didn't want to fight Neji.

So as the randomizer started up again and displayed the next fight, her face went as pale as her eyes.

**Hyuuga Neji v. Hyuuga Hinata**

A hand came down to gently clasp her shoulder. She looked over and met Shino's gaze, seeing some of his encouragement through his dark glasses.

"Don't let those mosquitoes go to waste, Hinata," he said. She was abruptly imbued with a new resolve in herself. She nodded.

"Y-Yes!"

She was going to be her very best.

She was going to make Sakura proud.

Kurenai watched the short interaction between her remaining two students before Hinata walked down the stairs with her head held high. That girl _never_ had a penchant for confidence, and if she did, it only lasted for mere seconds. Along with that, she knew well enough that Hyuuga Neji was one of the many people in her clan that instilled fear in her heart.

She looked at Shino.

"Mosquitoes?"

He kept his eyes glued to the match that was about to start.

"At least 2,000 of them," he replied. Getting a feeling she wouldn't a get straight answer out of her student, her piercing red eyes moved down to the arena as well. Once Neji and Hinata were toe-to-toe, the former spoke.

"I didn't think I'd be the one to fight you, Hinata-sama."

She clenched her fists and kept her chin up.

"Neji-nii-san," she returned. "It will be an honor to fight you one on one."

Neji narrowed his eyes. Kurenai walked closer to the railing. Lee leaned over, making sure he heard right. And Gai... Gai stayed back against the wall, his eyebrows pulled together as he tried to understand the sudden change in the normally shy and stuttering Hyuuga heiress. 

Genma felt the shift in the air that came from the two and let the corner of his lips quirk up— well, well. Wasn't this interesting? 

He raised his hand and stepped back.

"Begin!"

"I should advise you, Hinata-sama," Neji said as he dropped into offensive stance. "You should withdraw now. You're not fit to be a shinobi and you never will be. You're too kind and won't have what it takes— someone like you will never make it in a world like this."

There was a wave of silence.

Then Hinata placed one foot back, tucked her left hand to her side, and held her right hand up, palm facing outward. Her eyes shone with the byakugan and a determination he had never seen before.

"Th-Then I'll show you what it's like to fight someone like m-me!"

She charged forward.

::

Kurenai could clearly remember the time when she got her team assignment and saw Hyuuga Hinata's file in her hands. She didn't know whether or not it was alright to take care of an heiress from one of the most esteemed clan in Konoha and decided to make a trip to the estate to confirm for herself.

_When Kurenai opened the door to the Hyuuga training room, she found Hiashi alone as he polished one of the many kendo bokken he had on a mantle._

_"What is it?" he questioned. He didn't look up from his polishing._

_"Hinata's going to be under my wing from now on," she informed. "I was wondering if that was alright with you. Since she's the heiress to your clan, I understand if you would like to keep her under your care since death is a risk that can't be lessened."_

_Hiashi stood and set the bokken back in its place._

_"Do what you want," he said._

_"Hyuuga-sama?"_

_"She has yet to show anything for this clan, but due to some..._ unexpected _changes, she is on the middle-ground of being a failure or success. Which one she decides to be will determine her worth here."_

_Kurenai couldn't believe her ears. How could someone say something like this about their flesh and blood like— like all they'd be were pieces in a game of power and politics? Hiashi glanced her direction._

_"If that's all you have to say, then take your leave."_

Each blow Hinata dealt was one Neji blocked and it looked as if the two were on par as far as skill went. The strikes were brutal but carefully measured, precise but dangerously wild. But there was a sudden change in Hinata's stance as she pivoted her body to do a full 180° to dodge a blow and slammed her hand in an aim to catch Neji's torso.

He skidded backwards at the impact and clutched his stomach with one hand as his hitai-ate fell and _clinked_ on the ground. Undaunted and fury quickly traveling down his bloodstream, he lunged towards her again— only for Hinata to block his arm and jab his elbow, now leaving his left arm useless.

Then his right hand shot out and hurled it to her chest to attack the chakra points around her heart, sealing her tenketsu.

"What will you do know?" he panted as the pain in his stomach grew worse. "You're gentle fist is useless."

She met his glare, blood pouring down the corners of her mouth and pulled a pained smile—

—before grabbing his white jacket, pulling him closer, and slamming her forehead so hard against his that the sound bounced off the stone walls of the arena.

::

Obito gaped at what he'd witnessed. He couldn't believe it. Even as Neji's body dropped to the ground with a quiet _thump_ and the whole arena went silent as what transpired and when Genma slowly made his way back to the center and called out:

"Winner: Hyuuga Hinata!"

He still couldn't believe it when the medics came to carry his body to the infirmary then help Hinata walk to follow. When he looked up at Sakura expecting the same amount of shock he felt, but found that she was on her feet and elated.

"I am going to buy her so many cinnamon rolls," she beamed. He stared at her incredulously.

"Cinnamon ro— she literally just kicked the ass of one of the strongest genin in Konoha and all you have to say is that you're going to get her _cinnamon rolls_?!" he whisper-exclaimed. Her smile turned into a grin.

"What else am I supposed to say? She did good so I'm getting her cinnamon rolls. Oh! You think I should get her zenzai too, huh? Good call."

Obito made an odd strangling noise from the back of his throat.

::

The shock of the most recent fight still hadn't quite died down by the time the randomizer sorted through the last four names of the preliminaries. Chouji had sunk down to crouch on his knees as he sorted through the last three people he'd be paired up against: the taijutsu-master Lee, the mysterious Sand-nin, or the scary Sound-nin.

The randomizer illuminated.

**Sabaku no Gaara v. Rock Lee**

Chouji's head thumped against the steel railings. The scary Sound-nin, huh?

Lee was more than ecstatic to finally get picked for battle. Eight full fights he'd been waiting through, and even though they were impressive to watch, the desire to launch into his own burned bright in his bones. And here his chance came with the strange Sand-nin whose abilities had yet to be discovered!

What a joyous occasion!

"Lee," Gai whispered. "Let me give you some advice."

Lee leaned towards his sensei expectantly. Any word from the great Maito Gai was one to be carefully considered and expanded upon, no matter how big or small it might seem! 

"That gourd is suspicious, got it? Keep an eye out."

"Of course, Gai-sensei!"

"Now go and fight to fullest, my young student!" he exclaimed as he pointed towards the distance. "Blossom with youth! Fight with vigor! Never give up!"

Lee nearly bursted with his battle cry as he jumped off the platform and onto the floor in front of his opponent. Gaara appeared mellow and not at all intimidating, even giving a polite nod of greeting as Lee dropped into his form. Such sportsman-like conduct! What a wonderful person!

"I hope we have a good match together!" he exclaimed. Gaara unfolded his arms.

"Good luck to you, Lee-san," he murmured. The green-clad genin smiled so brightly that he blinded half the spectators. Genma, not wanting to keep these pleasantries going on for much longer, let the two have at it.

"Begin!"

Lee dashed forward with speed almost too quick for the untrained eye and jumped into the air to drive his leg in a sideways swipe.

"Konoha Senpu!"

But his leg was caught and sinking in a wall of... sand? Tendrils of it slithered up his leg to keep him in place as a whole tidal wave came up behind Gaara to crash into his opponent. Lee was too quick and performed a series of backward flips to avoid the resulting crash of grainy material.

_'Sand manipulation?'_ he thought. _'That's trouble. Let's see what I can do!'_

He stormed forward again with flurries of kicks in all the directions he could manage, but none could land a hit. He couldn't even reach a meter away from Gaara without being blocked or turned away by his sand. Even kunai couldn't cut through it.

"You're fast," Gaara commented quietly. "I've never met someone with speed like yours. You must be talented."

Lee brightened up.

"Why thank you, Sabaku-san! You're very kind!"

And he dove in for another attack.

::

Obito squinted.

"Oi," he called. Sakura looked at him. He tilted his head to the side as he watched the battle. "Did that Suna kid just genuinely compliment his opponent mid-battle? Like they're not fighting for a spot in the finals?"

She sighed fondly.

"Leave Gaara alone, Uchiha-san. He's not very sociable and he's trying to make friends where he can find them."

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"So what's he doing?"

"His best."

::

Temari didn't know what was happening. First the battle had started like any other and Gaara was on the road to winning he had yet to lose a fight— so what was this? He was blocking and attacking that Lee genin like he should, but he was complimenting him the whole time.

"I told you we should've introduced him to some of the other genin back home," Kankuro said. She whacked his arm.

"Well they were too busy being afraid of him, weren't they? They're not going to hang around my baby brother if they keep acting that like," she scoffed. "But shouldn't we do something? He's supposed to be fighting, not making friends!"

He scratched the back of his head.

"Eh, I say let him do what he wants. He looks happy."

Gaara's face, of course, was blank.

::

Lee wiped the sweat from his face. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. While Gaara was very polite and very personable, the match couldn't continue with this stalemate he made for himself. Without breaking eye contact with his opponent, he reached down to the weights on his legs and dropped them onto the ground.

Gai straightened.

_'Is he...?'_

Lee charged again— faster this time. Much faster. So much faster that when he appeared in Gaara's face and kicked, the sand didn't have the time to make its barrier and allowed for his foot to make contact and send him rolling a few meters back.

Temari and Kankuro nearly choked at the action.

Gaara had _never_ been injured before.

::

When Gaara came to his senses and got up on one knee, his first reaction wasn't to retaliate or think of a plan to get back at his attacker and return himself to the winning end of the spectrum. He simply closed his eyes and reached down into his pocket, feeling for the smooth, rose-quartz shell he kept safely by him at all times.

His sand attached to his skin like sheet-thin armor as he stood.

"That was a good hit," he said. "But I won't let that happen again. I hope you understand that."

As Lee charged again, he let the sand swirl around them in an obscure storm and allowed a sand clone be made of himself, one that Lee mistook as the real him and performed the Lotus move that broke a good chunk of the arena floor. By the time he'd realized that he hadn't attacked the real Gaara, an arm of sand descended on him and smacked him into one of the walls.

"Please don't over-exert yourself," he said quietly as Lee struggled to get back on his feet. "It's not good for your body if you push it too hard. You can get sick if you do something like that."

Gaara's eyes widened a small fraction as he sensed a strong build up of chakra waiting to be released from Lee's body. Expulsion of that sort never came without consequence, and if someone survived whatever mass chakra release they'd done, they'd be hospitalized for days— _weeks_ , even.

Lee couldn't do that. This fight wasn't worth it.

All the sand from Gaara's gourd suddenly streamed out and tore through the air with the intent of a blunt hit into unconsciousness. The sand surrounded Lee from all sides with no escape and no way of retaliation.

Gaara glanced to the side, avoiding what would ensue.

"Forgive me," he murmured.

::

"Winner: Sabaku no Gaara!"

"Lee!" Gai shouted. He charged down into the arena as the sand cleared, his student's body completely immobile as it lay sprawled on the ground. There was no blood and as far as he could tell, no broken bones—

"He's just unconscious," Gaara informed him. Gai turned to see the boy standing right behind him and he forced himself not to flinch. He wasn't aware that he'd walked all the way from the other side of the battle floor. "I made sure not to break any of his bones or disrupt any of his internal organs."

Gai frowned.

"Then why did you—"

"He was about to do something dangerous and this fight isn't important enough to put his whole life on the line for," he replied. "Chuunin Exams or not, lives are valuable regardless."

Gaara began to walk back towards the platform his siblings stood dumbfounded on, not seeing the tears that sprouted from Gai's eyes as he clenched his fist and let the medics set his student on a stretcher.

"A pure heart you have, young genin!" he whispered as a sunset flourished behind him.

::

**Akimichi Chouji v. Kinuta Dosu**

Chouji scrunched up his face as he faced off his opponent: the last genin of the Sound team who was undoubtedly their leader and strongest asset. Dosu stared him straight on as Genma readied prepared himself to start the final battle of the preliminaries.

"Ready?" he prompted. Dosu stared at Chouji.

"I'll end you quickly, fatty," he said. The Akimichi's train of thought abruptly slowed to a screeching halt as his eyes kindled in a scorching flame.

"What the hell did you just call me you bandaged cucumber roll?!" he fumed. Genma stepped back before he could get caught in the pre-fight crossfire.

"Begin!"

"Baika no Jutsu!" Chouji roared. His body expanded to four times its normal size and he retracted his limbs to become a semblance of a sphere. Chakra oozed from his body as he started spinning and propelled himself towards his opponent in a powerful roll.

But he miscalculated when he accidentally crashed into one of the walls and getting himself stuck. Dosu took this opportunity to activate the echo speakers on his arms and deliver a punch to Chouji's midsection, sending a sickening amount of sound waves through his body and making him too dizzy to continue participating.

"Winner: Kinuta Dosu!"

A medic knelt by Chouji.

"Are you alright?"

He mumbled and garbled his answer.

"I wanna eat barbecue..."

::

"That's it then," Obito said. He stood up and stretched his muscles before dusting the dust from the bottom of his pants. He was glad he came to see the preliminaries and took note of the ten genin who managed to advance. Sakura pressed her hands against her cheeks.

"I'm so proud of them!" she gushed. "They all did so well!"

"You're real excited about this, aren't you?"

"Of course! Most of them are my friends and I'll be cheering them on when the finals start a month from now," she said. Sakura reached up to pop the opening of the roof and climbed in, Obito following a distance after her. "The battle assignments are going to be posted tomorrow morning in front of the Academy building, so I'll congratulate them then."

They reached the fresh evening air and met the sun drifting down into the horizon.

"You're not going to see them now?" he asked. That was odd— he expected her to take the time to visit her friends especially after the trial they just faced. Sakura took a deep breath and smiled.

"Nah. There's something I have to do first."

She had on that mischievous grin that dimpled her cheeks, and Obito knew then that he wouldn't be surprised if someone turned up dead the next day.

::

It was near the middle of the night.

Kabuto snuck out to about a kilometer from the village under the cloak of dark, his report for Orochimaru in hand and his intent for Konoha's internal sabotage deep-set in his heart. He was to head most of the missions to weaken the village's infrastructure and make them more susceptible to the future siege.

As he was about to summon a hawk to send off the report, there was a rustling in the bushes behind him. He braced himself for a shinobi who would question his actions or one of his subordinates who had the poorest timing, but was disgruntled to find that it was neither.

Just a man with silver slicked-back hair who was dressed in civilian clothes.

"Who are you?" Kabuto questioned as he narrowed his eyes. The man lifted some beads he was carrying and smiled.

"I'm Hidan, a monk from the Fire Temple," he introduced. "I was searching for some sacred shrines that were supposed to be in the area to pay my respects, but I've seemed to come across you instead. Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"You're alright," Kabuto replied. He did recall seeing some signs pointing directions to shrines on the way to his current location, so he supposed the monk's story checked out. Though he was irritated at being bothered, he hid it well behind a cordial smile. "Would you like my help directing you towards those shrines?"

"No, I think I'm close enough to finding them. But you _can_ help me with something else."

Hidan tucked his beads away as the air around them darkened with heavy blood-lust. Kabuto scowled as the man brandished a black spike, his magenta irises bubbling with delirium.

"Since you're the snake bastard's lapdog, I'd like to fuck you up six ways from Sunday. It'd be a great help if you wouldn't scream like a bitch because I'm gonna make it fucking _hurt_ ," he grinned. Kabuto clenched his jaw and took a step back. Monk his ass— this guy was an absolute psycho! He probably wasn't even a Konoha-nin, how could he have figure out Orochimaru's plans?!

Suddenly, the report in his hands was pierced by a new weapon and snatched from his hands. He leapt away to the other side of the clearing as a second assailant made themselves known: a girl with pink hair in a red tank top and dark gray pants. Her right arm was bandaged from shoulder to wrist while her left was only covered from her elbow down. She kept her wrist blades out as she lazily flipped through his report.

"You're not going to be able to get his message to him now," she sighed. His papers went up in flames and she smiled at him. "Tragic."

Kabuto kept his eyes on her as she slid up to Hidan's side and exchanged predatory looks.

"Whatever information you want out of me, you're not going to get it," he snarled. A third person came out of the shadows to take their spot between the girl and the monk. Unlike the other two, this was someone Kabuto recognized almost instantly that caused him to bare his teeth in rage. " _You_! You dare betray Orochimaru-sama?!"

Sasori shrugged.

"Can't exactly betray someone you were never with in the first place. Like when I kill you. It's going to absolutely be my fault and I'm not even going to feel bad about it."

Three against one weren't good odds at any angle, but Kabuto would be damned if he didn't go out without a fight.

"I won't lose," he swore.

"But you will," Sasori grinned. "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."

The puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage descended on its target like the grim reaper would on a dying fool.

::

Digging holes weren't supposed to be hard. For shinobi, at least. Anyone with an earth affinity could've easily opened up a hole in the ground and dispose of a body like it was nothing, but _no_. They couldn't use any jutsu— the chakra that required it would alert anyone nearby and the sound of the earth splitting and two before coming together again would surely catch someone's attention.

So they had to use shovels. To dig. 

_Through stone layers_.

" _That's just the way the cookie crumbles_ ," Hidan mimicked, raising his voice some octaves higher as he chucked dirt over his shoulder. "I can't fucking believe your dumbass. Those were the last words he was every going to hear? Bullshit! Bull. Shit! What the fuck kind of criminal are you?!"

"One that suffered 80 years in solitary confinement, so excuse me if there are a couple building blocks missing from my castle," Sasori sniffed. Hidan threw his hands up.

"Who says that? Who the fuck says that?! You know what I'm gonna do? I'm about to go over there and break some of the windows of your goddamn castle!" he shouted. The puppet master crossed his arms.

"You can't. There's a moat."

" _Fuck your_ _moat_!"

Sakura stared up to the edge of the hole where Sasori sat, content at arguing with Hidan at such a height and rested her own shovel on her shoulders.

"Oi! Your Royal Highness arguing about his stupid castle!" she snapped. "Get down here and help us dig, dammit! We'd get done quicker if you helped us!"

"I'm keeping watch."

"Keep watch down here, bastard!" she demanded. They'd wrapped Kabuto's corpse in all sorts of seals that would conceal his identity and make everything about him useless if anyone tried to remove them, but the body didn't need a guard. He was going to be buried and there was no argument against keeping the corpse with them as they dug. 

Sasori flipped his hair out of his eyes.

"You just called my 'Your Royal Highness'," he said. "Meaning that in this situation, you're now my subjects who have to—"

He was interrupted when a shovel soared into him.

_'Just a month until the exams are over,'_ Sakura told herself as she turned back to observe the stone layers she was digging up. _'Then Orochimaru attacks, we end his siege, we save some lives.'_

She stared up at the bright moon overhead, the sound of Sasori's groans of pain and Hidan's laughter welcome sounds in her ears.

_'Maybe this time, it'll be fine.'_


	65. Serpentine (2)

**_Part 2/2_ **

::

Every team that was put together had a purpose.

Asuma was training a team of intelligence gatherers. Shikamaru restrained, Ino manipulated, Chouji guarded. Not to mention they had exceptional teamwork, just as their fathers before them.

Kurenai was training a team of trackers. Hinata sought, Kiba sensed, Shino spied. They were a dream team filled with members of noble clans and had the ability to use their respective techniques in unison so that their capture-escape ration always worked in their favor.

He—Gai— was training a team of close combatants. Tenten mastered weaponry, Neji excelled in ninjutsu, and Lee had been gifted in martial arts. They were their teacher's pride and joy with a high success rate and a stasis that was hard to rival.

But... what would become of Kakashi's team? Sakura: civilian prodigy, T&I associate; rounded capabilities. Naruto: jinchuuriki; chakra powerhouse; ninjutsu proficient. Sasuke: Uchiha; forbidden kekkei genkai; ninjutsu proficient.

What kind of balance was that? What sort of team were they? Did they even _have_ a plan in mind?

Gai mostly kept to himself with his own thoughts and theories as he gazed at the assignments for the last part of the exam, thinking to all the fights he finished witnessing just a day ago.

Sabaku no Kankuro v. Uzumaki Naruto

Aburame Shino v. Haku

Sabaku no Temari v. Nara Shikamaru

Hyuuga Hinata v. Kinuta Dosu

Sabaku no Gaara v. Uchiha Sasuke

He saw just how capable Kakashi's team could be with Sasuke's animosity and Naruto's unprecedented use of the Yondaime Hokage's trademark jutsu. The way they fit together skill-wise made little sense to him besides their relationships to each other, and the only thing he could see coming out of their team work was destruction.

"They posted the assignments!"

Gai lifted his head as the Konoha preliminary winners bounded to the poster to see who'd fight who in the finals. Naruto first scoured the paper for his name and noticed it on the first battle slot next to the Suna-nin who rubbed him the wrong way.

"Karma!" he shouted, pointing at the paper. "This is karma! I'm gonna kick his ass into the sun, dattebayo!"

Haku and Shino exchanged glances. Their fight would be an interesting development in itself. Shikamaru could only sigh and mutter _troublesome_ at who he had to fight, Hinata clenched her fists in determination, and Sasuke pursed his lips.

"Psst," Naruto whispered. He nudged Sasuke's side. "You're going against the guy that beat Lee. Is that okay?"

The Uchiha crossed his arms.

"Hn. It'll be fine, don't worry."

"He's right, you know," a new voice piped up cheerily. Sakura strode over to them in her typical uniform and happy grin. "Congratulations on making it to the finals! And good morning, Maito-san!"

"Call me Gai, Sakura-san! And good morning to you as well!"

She nodded and turned back to her friends.

"I saw your guys' fights yesterday, and I have to say, I'm impressed," she said. Before Naruto could ask just _how_ she'd seen them, she grabbed his cheeks with one hand and squished them together, laughing when he pouted. "And yes, I was there as security. You just couldn't sense me."

Gai eyed her thoughtfully. She didn't see him.

Hinata took a timid step forward, his gaze downcast and her face pink.

"Yo-You saw the fights?" she questioned. How embarrassing! If she'd known she was being watched by the person she admired the most then maybe she wouldn't have done so well. What did she think? Was she good enough to have—

Hinata squeaked as Sakura threw her arms around her shoulders and chuckled.

"I saw your badass headbutt," she winked. "I have to say, the end to that match surprised me. You looked so cool!"

The Hyuuga started to tremble. The mix of pride, more embarrassment, and the arm draped over her made her face burn darker as she ducked her head down to try and shield her coloring. Sakura smiled and regarded the rest of them, keeping her arm in place.

"So! What do your training regimes look like?"

"Itachi is training me the duration of the month," said Sasuke. Sakura couldn't remember when he stopped addressing his brother with his honorifics, but it saddened her to see the change. It was like the rift between and him and his family never grew any closer since the day he decked a fellow clansman. "I'm sure he'll teach me more family techniques so I'll be at the compound more often."

"My tou-san has set up a schedule for me to train with my kikaichu."

"Eh, I'm sure I have something troublesome waiting for me at home,"— a yawn—"what a drag."

"Zabuza-sensei is taking me out of the village to train."

"U-Um, my otou-sama has a-a plan."

"Uh... I'll ask Kakashi-sensei later?" Naruto wondered aloud. At Sakura's nod of confirmation, he nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei! Where is he anyway?"

"He got sent out of the village for a quick scouting mission," she said. "There was some disturbance a kilometer out at about three in the morning. Something about a couple of falling trees, but it probably just mother nature."

Right. Mother nature.

If mother got mad at Royal Highnesses and castles and moats and idiots.

And if mother nature decided to hide buried areas with fallen tree trunks, then felling other threes to make it look like some natural phenomenon.

"Actually, Sasuke, could you do something for me?" she questioned. He leaned towards her curiously. "If you could shout _shannaro_ one more time—"

Sasuke growled as his face went red.

"I didn't!" he denied vehemently. Sakura watched as Naruto crowed and teased his friend, everyone chuckling in good nature as she and Hinata stayed back. She was glad that at least for now, they were all happy. Happy in living, happy in having each other. 

Her expression must've appeared a little wistful because she could see Gai observing her strangely.

Haku glanced at Sasuke's watch.

"Oh, it seems I have to take my leave," he mentioned. "Zabuza-sensei wants me packed and ready to go by noon. We'll be back before the final exams start."

"Have fun and get stronger," Sakura bid. When one left, the others tended to follow she supposed, when the others had started to drift off to their other plans for the day. Yoshino swung by to yank her son by the scruff of his shirt to drag him back home to do chores (him yawning and nodding off much of the way there), Sasuke left to attend to clan business he couldn't shirk, and Naruto ran off after realizing that he promised Mari he'd help set up Magenta before it opened later in the evening.

Three of them remained and Sakura perked up.

"That reminds me..."

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small bag of winter melon candies. She stuck in Shino's high collar overcoat with a smile before turning to hand the last person a cutely boxed cinnamon roll.

Hinata took it with shaking hands, peered through the clear film at the top at the huge smiley face drawn on the pastry, then promptly tipped backwards where Shino moved to catch her. He stared at Sakura.

"You know she does that."

"But I wanted to give her something for doing so well in the preliminaries," she pouted. "I know she's shy, but how come she only faints when I do things for her? Isn't she used to me by now?"

The _look_ Shino gave her was injected with disbelief, making him shake his head a few seconds later when his prodigy of a friend stayed confused. Really, and when he thought it was blaringly obvious.

"I'll take her to the meeting we have with Kurenai-sensei," he said, changing the subject and scooping Hinata into his arms. "I'll see you later, Sakura."

His head brushed against the bag still tucked in his collar and his tone took on something softer.

"And thank you for the candies. They're my favorite."

Sakura's lips quirked up as she waved when he turned to walk down a less busy street.

"See you!" she called. When she turned back around to face the assignment poster, she was minutely surprised that Gai was still standing there with his hands on his hips and energy bursting at the seams.

"It's so nice to see the youth bonding with each other so preciously!" he exclaimed. "It's truly magnificent! You still have time to spend with them even with your new status and your work at T&I?"

Sakura rolled up the sleeves of her uniform jacket a bit further. Gai was probably just trying to get to know her better and welcome someone else into the jounin rank, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something else he wanted to know about her. Maybe he had yet to pick up the fact that she was an oddball by nature.

That's what everyone else already thought, and that's why she was able to get away with everything so easily; the stranger she was, the more likely they would turn a blind eye to the strange things she did.

"I always make time for my friends. They're special to me," she answered. "Besides, someone's going to have to look after them when they're reckless, right?"

Gai opened his mouth his mouth to reply, but stopped short when a thread of sand slithered up to up to them and curled around Sakura's right wrist. Wariness flashed through his eyes for a split second as he raised them to gauge her reaction. If anything, her face brightened as she half turned and greeted the larger swirl of sand that appeared next to her to soon be replaced by a body.

Gaara was there. And he raised a hand to latch onto Sakura's sleeve.

"Found you," he announced quietly. She laughed and turned back to the stunned green jounin. 

"I'll see you around, Gai-san. Maybe when Kakashi makes it back later?"

Hundreds of theories ran a million kilometers a minute through his mind, but words stuck out even brighter. Skepticism. Disbelief. Suspicion. Foreign. Jinchuuriki. How? Why? Then lay the ultimate question that pooled his thoughts to a standstill.

_Who is Haruno Sakura?_

Gai grinned, all his discomfort carefully shut away where the two couldn't see it.

"Take care, Sakura-san! Sabaku-san! Enjoy the rest of your day!"

He watched them leave, and the further they went, the more his smile fell until it was a firm line on his face. Gai spun on his heel and let his feet carry him to the Police Station.

Maybe Obito knew something he didn't.

::

Naruto had a skip in his step as he headed to training ground seven. Today would be the first day of his training for the finals and he was going to do everything in his power to kick Kankuro's ass even if it was the last thing he ever did. Well, maybe not the last thing. But he was damn well going to do it.

As he started down the path towards his destination, he could already start to hear Sakura's chastise-voice in the distance and could barely restrain a smile. He would always be grateful in having someone like her in his life. She was like an older sister even though they were the same age, but if it weren't for her, where would he be now?

"— and that doesn't even _count_ the expired cans in your pantry!" accused Sakura, jabbing a finger into Kakashi's side. "You're a grown man! Are you honestly going to let your students teach you the goddamn food pyramid because you don't know how to eat your daily servings?!"

"I'm not letting my students do anything to my dietary habits, but they just happen to show up, don't they?" he scowled. Her jabbing turned into a swift punch.

"We wouldn't have to show up if your fridge didn't look like a wasteland!"

"It's not a _wasteland_."

"It totally is, dattebayo!" Naruto interrupted. He strode up to Sakura's side and placed his hands on his hips. "Eggs, milk, and a couple of oranges doesn't look healthy to me!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"And ramen does?"

"I'll ignore that insult because you're my sensei," he sniffed. He dropped his arms. "So what are we going to do for the finals? Is there something important I need to work on before it starts? You know, not counting the hiraishin and stuff."

Both jounin went quiet for a moment and exchanged looks. 

"Chakra control," they informed in unison. Naruto let out a pained groan.

"What? Come on! Something more interesting!"

Kakashi eyed him for a moment, the gears turning in his head. He could always have the boy meditate in a lake until the brink of hypothermia like he did two years ago when he first had them as a team, but he saw fault in it. Ice cold water was brutal and probably not the best course of action in a one-month training period.

But hot water, on the other hand...

"Follow me," he said. He started walking towards the direction of the west districts with Naruto and Sakura following after him readily.

"Where are we going?" she questioned.

"The hot springs."

Something expectant splashed in her eyes. Kakashi and Naruto regarded her cautiously— they recognized that look and knew well enough nothing uneventful came out of it.

"Ne, ne, something up with the hot springs, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. She grinned. 

"I heard a rumor earlier," she divulged. "About this pervert that came to the village early this morning. He likes to spy on women in the baths and says it's for 'research'..."

::

Jiraiya didn't think he was a crude man. Sure, he dabbled in his vice a little here, a little there, and a lot over where those women were because they were gorgeous with their curves and the biggest—

But he digressed. Not crude. Just... _appreciative_.

And he did so because of his line of work. He was an author who needed inspiration for the greatest of muses, and beautiful women just happened to be one of them. Besides, it's not like he wrote porn as his best-selling line of novels. They were great pieces of literature.

That happened to have lots and lots of sex.

Jiraiya giggled to himself as he peered through a hole in the wall of one of the numerous bath houses in Konoha. The village had the women that knew exactly how to strike up inspiration in his books in the best ways possible. He tilted his head to get a better look through the steam. Now, if they could only take off their towels—

"PERVERT IN THE HOT SPRINGS!" someone bellowed from behind him. "RUN AND HIDE! HE'S GROSS AND OLD AND A TOTAL LOSER, DATTEBAYO!!!"

Screams filled Jiraiya's ears as he stood to full height and whipped around.

"What's the big idea, loudmouth?!" he demanded. He was met with three people: a blond boy who crossed his arms over his chest and sneered, a pink-haired girl with the most unamused stare he'd ever seen, and a man with eyes that simmered.

"You are a disgrace to humanity you lecherous toad," the man stated. Jiraiya brightened up.

"Kakashi! You've grown up since last I saw you!" he exclaimed. He looked at the two pint-sized kids and glowered. "Who're the brats?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" the blond one growled. "Call me a brat all ya' want, but at least I respect women's privacy and not peep unlike some dumb, ugly old man who needs to get a life!"

"Hey!"

"And I'm Haruno Sakura," the girl introduced. "Less than pleased to meet you, you depraved geezer."

Jiraiya's forehead ticked. He asked who they were, not to be insulted by two kids clearly old enough to be fresh Academy graduates. He swung his large scroll over his shoulder and planted an end on the ground, entering into a dramatic stance.

"I'm not dumb, ugly, nor a geezer, but Jiraiya the Sannin!" he boomed. "I'm a man feared across the nations, unparalleled, kn— _don't ignore me_!"

The three of them had walked away to the edge of a large body of one of the hot springs. Naruto stepped onto the water and stood near the center, his face screwed in concentration as his hands formed the tiger seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya's eyes glittered in interest as about fifteen clones crowded around their summoner, taking the same body-weight squatting position and steadied their chakra flow to the soles of their feet and the palms of their hands. He wandered over to Kakashi's side and examined the twenty-six year old man's profile.

"Dan really made you a sensei, did he?" Jiraiya mused. He glanced at the boy for a moment. "I'm surprised. I didn't think you had it in you."

"He didn't," Sakura quipped. Kakashi's eye started to twitch.

"Sakura," he warned. She ignored him and pushed him a little ways back so she could step in front and face the sannin head on.

"Kakashi was a horrible sensei," she revealed cheekily. "Total hardass and had a stick up his butt the size of Wind Country. I'm pretty sure it's still there, but it's only the size of Earth Country now."

Jiraiya sputtered and covered his mouth to keep his laughter in place.

"Anyway, it took us a while but we finally got him to like us. I mean, he still tries to deny it and all, but at this point we all know that's not true," she finished. The Sage stared down at her wholly amused as Kakashi snatched the collar of her jacket and tossed her back to where she was standing before. Naruto was still focused on his exercise, but an impish grin took over his lips. 

Jiraiya looked at her a little closer this time.

"Introduce yourself again so I can get it this time."

"Haruno Sakura," she beamed. "Previously on Kakashi's team; jounin; T&I associate. I read about your travels in Water Country and I think your theories about the conspiracies of Yosuga Pass are really getting somewhere, though you're focusing a little too South for the problem. If you try talking to the residents on the northwest edge of the island, I think you'll come closer to your conclusion."

Kakashi couldn't help but feel a smug bubble swell in his chest at the slow, dawning look that rose like the sunrise on Jiraiya's face. Sakura's smile stretched into a grin as she walked on the water to make sure Naruto was in steady form.

Jiraiya raised a weak finger at her as his head slowly turned to Kakashi.

"Is that... normal?" he inquired lowly.

"You get used to it," Kakashi replied. He reached into his vest and pulled out a three-pronged kunai— one the sage didn't have trouble recognizing. "She gave Naruto a set of these on his tenth birthday. I don't know where she acquired it or how she even knew of their existence, but she also managed to get Namiashi Raido help her teach the ninjutsu to him."

"Namiashi? One of Minato's old guards?"

"Yes."

" _How?_ "

Kakashi twirled the kunai on his finger before chucking it as hard as he could across the hot springs with an aim to Sakura's head. He hand shot up and caught it mere millimeters before it made contact, then handed it to Naruto for safe keeping. 

"You've been gone for too long. Anything she doesn't isn't impossible," he said. All of Jiraiya's previous lightheartedness disappeared. He watched as Naruto struggled to keep up the exercise as Sakura lifted one of his legs horizontally, having his practice both balance and chakra control.

"Did he manage the technique?"

"He performed it, but he's more than a long ways from perfecting it. Give it a few more years."

Jiraiya fell into another deep set silence before he started again.

"So he's following in his father's footsteps?" he murmured. He raised his calculating stare to observe Sakura once more. Another prodigy, was she? Like Uchiha Itachi, but more vocal, more of a riot, more—

He straightened. The Sakura on the water was a clone.

"Well if you're talking about Namikaze Minato then yes, I guess he really is taking after his father," someone whispered. He turned and saw the real Sakura standing on a rock and leaning on Kakashi's shoulder. "Come on, Naruto's practically a carbon copy if you erase his whiskers."

Kakashi looked at her. Honestly, he wasn't upset. Not even a little bit mad. She had always been a little hub of information of things she shouldn't know and things so obscure other people weren't aware they didn't know. He should've expected something like this, but he asked anyway.

"How did you find out?"

"How do you think? By asking around? I _obviously_ eavesdropped like what I was doing two minutes ago."

She hopped off the rock and patted Kakashi's arm.

"But it's about time I go. It should be around the time the old man finds out I'm not at my post," she sighed. "I'll see you around when you're not training. See you later Kakashi, Jiraiya-sama. Naruto!"

The real Naruto looked up.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?!"

"I'm leaving! Give Kakashi hell, got it?!"

He grinned.

"You bet!"

She was able to see Kakashi's eyes twitch even more and Jiraiya's jaw shift before she disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. With all of the sage's jocular nature gone, he turned back to watch Naruto with his newfound information slowly stewing in his head. If Kakashi wasn't going to answer his questions about that strange girl, he'd ask Dan himself and see just what he'd missed over the years of his travels and reconnaissance.

What happened with her wasn't _normal_ at any level. What other things could she have done to give her the benefit of the doubt of her being a spy, or even worse— an infiltrator who already knew what they were going to do to take down the village?

But that was a matter for later. She wasn't the only interesting one he'd met today. 

"Kakashi, you plan on training that brat for the finals?" he asked. The Hatake nodded once.

"What of it?"

"There are... a few things I'd like to teach him," Jiraiya admitted. He noted that Naruto was paying absolutely zero attention to them as his control began slipping. "If you don't mind, I think it's about time I step up as his godfather."

::

Sakura reappeared in a shadowed alleyway and turned into the busy street, one hand clasped around the back of her neck and the other tucked in her pants pocket. ROOT operatives were _still_ in their normal places, precautions _still_ hadn't taken hold, and all the while, she _still_ couldn't pinpoint where that bastard Danzo scurried off to.

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from making a hiss of frustration. She had to keep herself collected for everyone's sake. For everyone's future. 

That damn cockroach would only be a bump in the road.

"You! Stupid Haruno!"

Sakura paused. She knew that voice, and she knew that insult. As she turned, she quirked an eyebrow at the angry seven year old that stormed over and glared up at her.

"Good morning, Hanabi-chan."

"You didn't tell me you were training nee-sama!" she exclaimed. "I told you not to steal her from me and you did it anyways!"

"But now she's training with Hyuuga-sama to prepare for the finals. Isn't that a good thing?"

Hanabi faltered before moving her gaze back and forth at different spots on the ground. That was a good thing— a _fantastic_ thing, actually, because her sister had made it even though she was a rookie because she was amazing and she would always be so. But that didn't mean Haruno had anything to do with it.

...

Maybe a little. Or else she wouldn't be standing in front of her right now.

"Of course it's good! Nee-sama's going to be a chuunin then a jounin then be stronger than you!" she proclaimed. Her long brown hair fluttered around her like raised wings as her head shot up again. "But you were training her and taking her time with me away so now you have to make it up to me!"

Sakura placed a hand on her hip as amusement tickled her cheeks. Hanabi was always so loud and bossy compared to other Hyuuga, but certainly had the bite to back up her bark even if she was only seven years old. Her love for her older sister was also widely renowned and she fought anyone who talked Hinata down. Though she always seemed to dislike Sakura for being the center of her sister's interest.

"Sounds fair. What do you want?"

Hanabi puffed out her chest and stared at her through her milky white glare.

"I want you to train me too!"

Sakura blinked. Then spoke up again.

"You secretly like me, don't you?"

Hanabi flushed red.

"Shut up! I hate you and everything but nee-sama got stronger because you helped her, and I can't just stay here like this! I want to be strong like her too be—"

Her rant was cut short when a hand descended on the top of her head and mussed up her hair. Hanabi hissed and swatted and when she peered up through the hair over her face, Sakura had a sincere smile playing at her lips.

"Tell you what, Hanabi-chan. Come find me after all the exam fuss is over and I'll start teaching you some things, okay?"

Hanabi nodded firmly— content visible behind her mask of pride—before making her way back to the Estate. Sakura didn't think she was that serious, but if she did show up when the moth and siege were over, she supposed she'd have someone to pass her knowledge down to.

An acorn suddenly thwacked the back of her head.

"Ooo, someone's going to have a _protégé_ ," an annoyingly satisfied voice mused.  Sakura nearly rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, puppet fetish."

Another acorn hit her head and she whipped around, seeing Hidan standing under the tree Sasori was concealed in. The former smiled politely.

"That's my fucking insult," he said. His aura was disturbingly pleasant and his easy tone matched his 'monk' demeanor. Both her and Sasori shivered. "Now are we gonna prepare for the snake bastard or what?"

::

A month passed and Shimura Danzo had successfully eluded Haruno Sakura.

He could only hope she was as angry as he imagined she would be.

::

Three days before the finals had Konoha filling up much like it had before the exams first started with security tripled and visitor count bursting to new heights. Old competitors who didn't make it through returned to see what type of people they could've been up against, and higher ranking shinobi flooded the scene as two other Kage were expected to make an appearance.

Deidara managed to squeeze his way through clusters of crowds to meet Sakura by the crepe stand where they had that unfortunate meeting with the Uchiha weeks ago.

"Your village is even worse than last time, un," he huffed.

"Not my fault Konoha's already crowded enough with the foreign shinobi here," she said. She ordered a caramel and cream crepe from the stand. "But at least you made it. It'll be a lot of help on my end."

He ordered himself a blueberry and honey crepe and stood next to her while they waited.

"What is it you need exactly, hm? You haven't even given me a hint."

When their orders finished and Sakura took them both from the vendor, she handed Deidara his without a glance. He grabbed it and took the small slip of paper she hid in the crepe's wrapping. The message was short and sweet, but it was enough to make him believe he was going to have a hell of a day in three day's time.

_ When I give the signal, get out of the stadium and help protect the civilians. _

"There's this pest problem I'm trying to deal with," she said. "I think it'd help if you added some of your artistic flair."

He grinned as his blood quivered in anticipation for what would come.

::

The next day, the first of the two Kage to arrive was the Yondaime Mizukage. Yagura knew well enough that him and his village weren't well liked in soulful places like Konoha, but he kept his head high and his smile welcome as he greeted the Hokage, Konoha's council, and some of the T&I force that orchestrated the majority of the Chuunin Exams. Along the line of expressionless shinobi that attended the formality talk in the conference room at the Hokage Tower, Yagura noticed the shock of pink hair stood next to the head of T&I.

He didn't acknowledge her.

But he did accept her audience after he was lead to where he would be staying the duration of the exams where she'd slipped in through one of the back windows.

"It's been a while since we've talked face to face, Haruno-san," he said. "How are things?"

"Unfortunately there's been a break in my peace," she sighed. She observed the silencing seals and chakra sensors plastered around the room. Kiri-nin guarded doors and windows from outside, and she was positive her presence would be sworn to secrecy. Sakura took a seat on the sofa in the extended leaving area and grabbed one of the complimentary notepads and a pen.

_How do you feel about Orochimaru?_

Yagura took the pen offered to him.

_ He's a vile snake I'd like nothing more than to rip apart with my bare hands if given the chance. Why? _

She smiled.

_His right hand is dead, buried where only me and a specially crafted team know and where even my Kage is left in the dark. Orochimaru is coming and he has an army._

_ I would consider this information very carefully. _

Immediately upon reading those words, Yagura flicked the whole notepad into the ashtray and watched as it erupted in fire. He waved his hand and dismissed the stationed guards.

"Do you know that I could use this as leverage against your village and cite you as a traitor?"

"Do you know that you're not close enough to the Hokage, and if you make that claim, you'll be more likely to start a war?" she returned. It would be looked at as a threat against the neutrality of the two nations and would be especially damaging since the accused was one of the shinobi more integrated in village politics.

"That's true, I suppose," Yagura admitted. "But why tell _me_ this? Konoha isn't my village and I'm sure Kato-san would appreciate this information more than I would."

Sakura glanced at her bandaged bicep, envisioning the dark vein seal that hid her purple diamond from the world.

"They wouldn't listen to me."

"And I would?"

"You're still here, aren't you?" she questioned. The corner of his lips quirked as he allowed her to continue. "So there are currently three bijuu in Konoha at this very moment: the Ichibi, the Sanbi, and the Kyuubi. Two of the jinchuuriki are young and won't be able to control them if they're under intense emotional and/or physical pressure. Orochimaru will wage an arm to enact his revenge on Konoha and to take a person of a prestigious clan to be his new body."

"How barbaric," he frowned. "Not the ideal type of disaster Kiri is willing to help with."

He pinned her down with pink, pupil-less eyes.

"What is it you want me to do? Be reminded that I'm a Kage and I'm bound to my duty, so I can't make any promises to you."

Sakura understood that perfectly.

"All I ask is that you help take care of public safety while I attend to the problem," she said. She offered him a strained grin, and he knew from experience that a look like that meant probably one thing.

The Sanbi's thoughts rumbled worriedly in his conscious, and Yagura slowly alleviated his bijuu's worries.

"If you survive, I'll be expecting a report about what I commissioned you before."

::

Rasa arrived the day before the finals started, and Sakura could safely say that him being alive certainly set a different tone for the future. He was stoic and straight-backed, not unlike some few of the clan leaders Konoha raised.

Sakura wasn't in the group of welcoming shinobi this time and decided to spend that day with Gaara, since many of the other Suna shinobi came and she didn't want to leave him under their scrutiny and their belief that he was a danger to another village. The only time she did see the Kazekage face to face was when she and Gaara had stopped by a greenhouse to look at the blooming flowers through the glass. 

She felt a prickling feeling at the back of her skull and turned. 

Rasa was staring straight at her from a long ways away, tension the only thing she could see as discomfort stitched itself on her skin and as his full attention curled around her like rope.

Cold fingers wrapped themselves comfortably around one of her bandaged wrists.

"Don't worry about him," Gaara told her. She looked back at him and saw the underlying sadness in a face masked by soft reassurance. "Tou-sama is only worried for you."

Her eyebrows knit together.

"Me?"

"Tou-sama never really... _liked_ me, and he thinks I'm a danger to your well-being. But you're safe and I'll never let anyone hurt you," he promised. Sakura's heart melted a bit at his admission as she turned her head back and away from Rasa's stare and listened to Gaara talk more about the newer species of cacti he'd discovered in Konoha.

While she admired his words, she was sure that wasn't the reason Rasa was watching her so intently.

::

The day of the exams had Sakura passing through ROOT HQ by the time Naruto's match started. She took up the front of searching for Danzo and being slightly exasperated because she had something to turn in to him, asking the various operatives she passed in the hallway.

Operatives who _should_ be at the stadium like she would have ordered if she was in Danzo's position. But all the received from them were small shrugs and their own recollections of how they couldn't find him either.

"The last time I saw him was three weeks ago," Boar informed. "But he disappeared before I could greet him. He's never in his office when we look, but our assignments are always on his desk for us to take."

Sakura groaned.

"Seriously? And he said nothing about what he's doing?"

"I'm afraid not. The best you could do is leave it on his desk and expect him to pick it up and sort through it," he replied. He stayed silent for a few moments, and when she spun her heel to give up and make haste towards the finals, he stopped her.

"There's a rumor going around that you intend to take Danzo-sama's place," he said. Boar's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Is that true?"

"Yes. It is," she replied immediately. Unconcerned, she continued to wander down the corridor as she flipped through the papers in her 'report'. Boar followed her close to her side— not like Danzo, where he had to walk two paces behind at all times— and spoke again.

"Why?"

Sakura smiled up at him.

"Why not? An organization run under a questionable character doesn't have the makings of a strong foundation. Shinobi don't need to get rid of their emotions to be effective, and they don't need a curse seal on their tongue to activate anywhere outside of HQ to keep quiet. They're still people," she said. She peered into the holes of his mask, its shadowing darkness staring back at her. "Are you against me taking the position?"

Boar looked back and forth in the hall to make sure there was no one else with the before pulling aside his mask to show half his face. Sakura matched his gray hair with kind, black eyes and a face that was only a couple years older than herself.

"Danzo-sama may have his moments of leadership, but there are those who've become unhappy with the dubious nature of what we do for this village. I myself wouldn't be adverse to a change," he admitted. He slid the mask back over his face. "A lot of us like you, Sakura-san. We'll be willing to take the chance on you if you decide it."

She noted his support of her and tucked it behind Torune's and Kinoe's approval. If the others were already open about her, as young as they thought she was, trust her enough to put their organization on the line.

It felt nice to be believed in sometimes.

"I'll do my best," she assured. "Once I officially take up the helm, things are going to be different around her."

"I'll take your word on that."

Sakura prepared to take her leave.  She'd have to get to the stadium soon or she'd miss the end of Naruto's fight. Before she could exit HQ and take her spot as one of the many watchful eyes in the battle stands, Boar called out to her one more time.

"Thank you for being kind to my younger brother."

She grinned.

"Sai's a good friend of mine, Shin-san. I'm lucky to have met him."

::

Sakura slid into the end of the first row next to Sasuke and Kakashi amidst the roar of the stadium, the former huffing as she plopped right beside him.

"You're late. The dobe's fight is almost over," he said. She pat his cheek a couple of times as she glued her eyes on the battle.

"Sorry, got caught up."

Broken puppet parts were strewn across the arena floor and Naruto panted heavily on the north side, a rip in his jacket and down one leg of his pants. Kankuro fared somewhat worse with one knee on the ground, blood trickling where he pressed an hand to his side, and his sweat smearing his war paint.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A clone appeared beside Naruto as he extended his right arm, allowing the extra pair of hands manipulate his chakra until a glowing blue sphere manifested in the center of his palm. His clone disappeared once he deemed his job done.

Naruto charged.

"RASENGAN!"

Kankuro did even have the _opportunity_ to retaliate as he was thrown backwards against the stone walls.

He didn't move.

A team of medics entered the field and Genma stepped out.

"Uzumaki Naruto advances to the next round!" he announced. Sakura watched as Naruto scaled the arena wall to where the families of the finalists were seated. Both Mari and Iruka congratulated him when he jumped into their arms with the biggest grin he could muster though his grime and fatigue.

"See?" Sakura smiled, elbowing Sasuke in the ribs. He grunted. "I made it in time to see the best part."

She looked over at Kakashi.

"You let Jiraiya-sama teach him that move?" she asked. "That's like, A-rank at least. Kind of advanced for a genin, don't you think?"

Kakashi's eyes twitched unmercifully.

"You taught him a _space/time ninjutsu_."

"I helped teach him, not taught him fully— there's a _difference_. Raido-san did most of that, so I'll rightfully take half the blame."

"Jiraiya taught him that technique. I refuse to take responsibility."

"You're the supervising adult. You get three fourths."

"I hate you."

"Nice to know I'm appreciated in your cold, dead heart, asshole," she smiled. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the antics at his supposed straight-laced sensei and one of his best friends. To think that they were the ones in charge of the team— and they said him and Naruto were bad.

As the stadium buzzed in preparation for the next match, he raised his eyes to search the section of seats reserved for the families of the competitors. He recognized many of them like Shibi, Torune, Shikaku, Yoshino, Hiashi, Hanabi, a disgruntled-looking Neji, his stoic father, his proud mother...

Sasuke frowned. Shisui and Obito bugged him all of last night saying how they would be there to cheer him on with with parents. And Itachi, of course, said he wouldn't miss his matches for the world. But the three of them weren't there.

He tried to tell himself it didn't bother him, but it wasn't until Naruto leapt over them did he snap out of his stupor.

"Naruto! You're sweaty!" Sakura exclaimed. His legs were sprawled over her lap, his stomach on Sasuke's, and his upper body and arms on Kakashi's.

"There aren't any more seats here and ero-sennin left yesterday," he whined. "So I'm just gonna stay here and watch the matches like this, 'ttebayo!"

"Like hell you will, dobe," Sasuke grumbled, but didn't push off his friend. As he sat through Sakura's laughter, Naruto's happy chatter, and Kakashi's begrudging acceptance that he'd be stuck with the lot of them for a good chunk—if not the rest—of his life, he felt the small gap in his chest fill with warmth. It was okay if the rest of his family didn't show up, because this one had always and would _always_ be there for him.

With a small upturn to his lips, he watched as Shino and Haku took their spots in the arena, and the cheers of the crowd flooded his ears once more.

::

Itachi tapped his foot impatiently against the foot of a stone porch belonging to one of the many Uchiha households. Of course those two were going to be late. They were late for everything despite the occasion and came up with ridiculous excuses, like helping little old ladies cross the street or saving cats from trees. 

Right. Like they were unfortunate enough to get sucked into daily inconveniences.

"I'm sorry!!" someone cried from inside the house. The door swung open and Obito tumbled out, disheveled. "A badger jumped out at me from under the sink and we've been trying to catch it but it won't stay still!"

Itachi leveled his cousin with an unimpressed stare.

"A badger."

"Seriously, a badger! I was just opening the cupboard when—"

"Nii-san, duck!"

Obito yelped and crouched down with his hands over his head just as a badger flew over his head and bolted down the street with a sponge in its mouth. Shisui came running out the door in the same state of agitation as his older brother and yelled:

"That was the good sponge you _dirty goddamn trash bag_!"

He turned, his expression changing instantly when he waved at his younger cousin.

"Hi 'tachi-chan! How are things?"

Itachi was neither surprised nor amused as he pivoted on his heel and started to walk, his cousins scrambling to lock the door and follow after him. They had a final exam to attend to and he'd never forgive himself if he missed his chance to see Sasuke's fights.

The three of them passed many other clan members, both shinobi and civilian greeting them as they passed. It was odd that they were enjoying their day more leisurely than normal, like with some of the younger kids taking turns chucking kunai from different spots on the ground. Itachi couldn't exactly place why they were acting without their usual vigor, but he had to admit that he was feeling unusually sluggish himself.

Obito and Shisui didn't seem to notice, though, and filled the air with their incessant un-Uchiha-like chatter.

But then Itachi saw the badger again. It was near the entrance, butting its head a few times against the air and sniffing at the concrete walls that stood at the sides of the compound opening. It eventually retreated inwards, not setting a paw outside.

"Strange..." Itachi murmured to himself. He quickened his pace towards the entrance and tried to place a hand through to meet the other side.

"'tachi-chan...?" Shisui started. He fell silent when his cousin's palm met some invisible force that shimmered, sending ripples through a dome that encased the entirety of the Uchiha compound. Itachi's hand curled into a fist and he met the force again, to no avail. It was the same result.

"Shit," Obito hissed as his eyes flashed red. "This is advanced fuuinjutsu."

"You're saying—"

"We're trapped."

::

"Haku advances to the next round!" Genma announced. 

"Shino did his best," Naruto said. His friend, currently aided by the medics, had a face of indifference as his chin raised a battle well-fought. "Haku's got a mean ice jutsu."

"And look how proud Shibi-san and Torune-san are!" Sakura noted with a wide grin. "We all have to go out and get something to eat after everything's over. Like a celebratory dinner."

She paused.

"And get Kakashi to pay for it."

"I will not hesitate to drown you," he threatened, glaring at her when she dared to laugh at him straight in the face. The tyrannical fixture in his life was as annoying as she usually was, but he kept his tolerance of her a little higher than usual as he turned his attention back to the arena.

Shikamaru and Temari took their spots on the opposite sides of the arena. The crowds cheers never quite dwindled down, but in an audience filled with leaders, liaisons, civilians, and shinobi alike, one never really expected it to. This was a show; a power-play. But Shikamaru didn't think to do much to uphold Konoha's standings and shoved his hands into his pockets as he leveled her with a bored stare.

His opponent narrowed her eyes.

"What, you're just going to stand there looking like _that_?" she growled. "Fine! I'll come over there myself!" 

Temari pounced, her fan poised for a swing. Genma blinked from the sidelines.

"Oh come on, I didn't even say—" he stopped himself and sighed. "Well, whatever, I guess. You're going to end up fighting anyways."

She swung down at Shikamaru just has he held up two kunai and the resulting impact erupted in a cloud of dust. Temari let out a angry growl when she saw that her attack missed and that her target stood on the wall atop the kunai he must of lodged there to avoid a hit. 

"It doesn't matter if I become a chuunin or not," he smirked. "But I'll bite. There are a couple of troublesome people watching that would get mad at me if I made it this far only to get crushed by the likes of you."

Her brow ticked.

"The likes of _me_?"

"A second-rate shinobi who couldn't even wait for the next match to officially start."

Up on the stands, Asuma dropped his head in his hands, Chouji gasped, and Ino threw her head back and cackled.

Temari opened her fan to the first circle and slashed at him, her gust of wind crunching into the cement wall. He was gone again, and when she turned the other way, he was nowhere on the grounds. Running away—what a coward. Even when he had the gall to call her second-rate.

Then he dropped down from a tree and faced her.

"I thought you'd gone with your tail between your legs," she sneered. He shrugged.

"I could," he said. "But that'd mean I have to leave the stadium, and that's kind of a drag now that I think about it. The entrance is all the way over there."

She clicked her tongue. A smartass too, huh? Her fan expanded to its full three circles and swung it twice.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"

Temari's air currents encompassed the arena, breaking trees and ground and having the spectators cover their faces at the strength of the wind. She flipped back when a shadow arm extended in her direction. She'd only gone back just past the middle mark when it suddenly stopped, wiggled a bit, then retreated.

A blond eyebrow cocked upwards. A limit? Of course there'd be a limit, there was a limit to everything.

Shikamaru merely watched her in his place in the shadows of the arena. His opponent found the weakness to his jutsu and was more than likely to go against him, but that didn't mean she'd actually take it as it was. Fighting styles always different, and he learned that enough when he trained with his friends. 

Fighting Naruto taught him that reckless endeavors had their moments. Fighting Sasuke taught him speed had the capability to outdo wit. Fighting Hinata taught him close-ranged combat had a more immediate effect than long-range. Fighting Kiba taught him ferocity was a force to be reckoned with. Fighting Shino taught him watching one's back was important. Fighting Ino taught him to be mindful of aces up sleeves. Fighting Chouji taught him heavy-hitters were called that for a reason. And fighting Sakura...

Well, fighting Sakura meant he was going to lose either way because she was _Sakura_.

But he could work with the seven other things he learned.

Asuma positively gaped as Shikamaru suddenly threw all caution to the wind and lunged into carefully calculated kunai slashes and a bout of taijutsu. What the hell?! He was— Shikamaru had never _done_ that before! He was always one for slow timing and careful maneuvers, and he knew that he could've walked the road of victory simpler if he just thought for longer! He had an IQ of over 200 for a reason!

Kurenai blinked rapidly from her seat at his side.

"I never thought he would take initiative like that," she said. She was further impressed when Temari, caught off guard, tried to swing at Shikamaru, but he was at such a close distance that she had to duck to avoid a ruthless kick in the face. "From what you say, I suspected him to be lazy."

"He _is_ lazy! I know he's brilliant but— but I didn't even think he knew what the word initiative _meant_. He's never done this before. _Ever_ ," he stressed. His cigarette had fallen onto the ground, but he was too stunned to notice.

Shikamaru used his opponent's confusion to land behind her and use his shadow jutsu to capture her in a standstill. He stood up, still some paces behind her, and raised his hand in the air so Temari would do the same. His short-sleeved jacket had come off some time in the midst of his surprise attack, leaving him in his green-lined mesh.

But she wouldn't say anything. She refused to.

Two tense seconds passed. Then four. Then ten. Then twelve. But the stadium had fallen into a dead silence. Once the thirty second mark passed, Shikamaru would be declared the official winner and the match would be over. But as it ticked by the twenty-first second, the crowd went into shock.

"Ugh, fine!" Shikamaru groaned. "I forfeit!"

For... Forfeit?!

The stadium roared in disbelief and Asuma swore he was going to go into cardiac arrest. Temari clenched her fists once he released her shadow.

"A forfeit? Why?!" she demanded. He shrugged again, and she was beginning to think how annoying it was that he kept doing that.

"This whole thing's troublesome," he answered simply. "And I'm tired."

Genma snorted and made his announcement.

"Sabaku no Temari advances to the next round!"

On the stands, Naruto pumped his fist in the air, nearly nailing Kakashi in the chin.

"A forfeit!" Naruto laughed. "Shikamaru's awesome!"

"That was... odd," Kakashi remarked in his usual flatness, though his confusion was apparent. "In all manners of that fight, he would've won if he held his Kagemane nine more seconds."

"He can't be bothered sometimes," Sasuke said. "Besides, he knows that he can pass even if he doesn't win, hence his strategy usage."

"So he quit because...?"

"He quit because Sabaku was taking too long to give," the Uchiha explained. "He could either wait or lounge around sooner, and we all know what his obvious pick was."

They all merely glanced at Sakura when she slipped out her seat and crept down to the competitors' waiting area before resuming their conversation, knowing well enough it was best to ask questions later.

She passed by a calculating Dosu as they brushed shoulders walking different directions, him to the arena and her readily approaching Gaara.

"Hinata's fight is up next. Wanna watch with me?" she questioned. It was something she didn't even need to ask as he nodded once and stood by her at the arena ledge. "She's been training extra hard this month and I know she can kick some more ass today."

Gaara glanced the two new fighters who were taking their positions, them preparing to battle right at the crowd's newfound anticipation. Dosu appeared as if he was bored out of his mind, and Hinata's determination had yet to fade from her astonishing win a month ago.

"Okay," he said. Sakura smiled and propped her arm on his shoulder.

::

Rasa eyed the strange girl with pink hair and dressed in T&I's outfit. She was standing with his youngest son like she was a friend or something of that sort—but Gaara didn't have any friends. Outside the village, anyways. His siblings had warmed up to him quickly and unusually, and this was just another addition he could never account for.

"Kato-san," he said. The Hokage looked at him. "Who's that girl?"

Dan followed his gaze.

"Ah. That would be Haruno Sakura. She's a jounin and one of our T&I associates. If I remember right, she turned twelve this year."

"Twelve?" Yagura interjected smoothly, a humorous tug at the edge of his lips. "That's quite young, wouldn't you say? Due to your policies, I'm surprised you let her take such a high rank at that age."

Dan drew a placid smile and folded his hands in his lap.

"She's one of the very few exceptions."

Rasa frowned and kept his eyes on her.

::

They were ready to strike.

Hundreds of men—both disposable and/or monstrous— lay in wait for their time to wreak havoc on Konohagakure.

And what a joy it would be to see green leaves burn.

::

Dosu fell to the ground with a resounding thud, Hinata looming over him with her hand outstretched and a liberal stream of blood pouring out of a cut on the side of her head. He'd been far easier to defeat than her cousin, and still riding on the high of her previous win. Her chest swelled at the cheers and applause and it overrode the anxiety she normally carried.

"Hinata!"

She turned towards the competitors' waiting area and saw Sakura waving both her arms with a bright grin on her face as she cheered.

"You were amazing!!"

Hinata went red and shuffled out the arena.

Up next would be the most anticipated battle of the exam, and Sakura wished Gaara good luck before making her way out of the waiting area and meeting up with Sasuke before he went down there himself. He was caught up in staring at the empty spots next to his mother when Sakura nudged him.

"If you win, I'll get you those ridiculously bitter candies."

He looked away from the stands and smirked.

"I don't need incentives to win."

Sasuke glanced down at his opponent for a second or two, then looked back to his friend.

"You'll see," he affirmed. Sakura squished his cheeks together at his arrogance and started her walk up back to her spot. They would start in a few minutes, and the dignitaries that came with this fight holding their more particular interests waited at the edge of their seats.

This was the chuunin fight of all fights and there was nothing that could bring them away from this moment. 

But then it happened. 

::

White feathers started to fall from the sky.

The hush that befell the audience was sudden and chilling, and most of the spectators that stared upwards knocked out in the following seconds. Deidara could have been one of those unfortunate watchers, but he saw the glinting mirror that flashed across his vision the split second before the phenomenon and braced himself for what would come.

And what came was an explosion that blasted through one side of the stadium and the clamors of the enemy shinobi that followed after like a fuse to dynamite.

Down below, he could see Sakura grab the Uchiha's arm and run out alongside the blonde one from the first fight, a dome of sand shielding them as the red-haired Suna genin escape right by them.

Screams. Smoke. Fire. Pandemonium.

Deidara clicked his tongue and dove into the battle outside the stadium walls as the village shook with a high-pitched siren. 

Konoha was in red alert.

::

Dan's scowled as he and the two other Kage helped carry out some unconscious citizens out of the stadium. The enemy was still using it as one of their main access points, and the shinobi stationed inside were doing the best they could to protect those still vulnerable.

He whirled towards one of the chuunin who came to his attention as his pale blue hair swung around his shoulders.

"Inform any able-bodied Regular Force jounin to attend to the damage done to the civilian sectors!" he ordered. The chunnin bobbed his head and jetted off to where he could. He spun towards another group of shinobi. "I want infirmary tents set up an all medics accounted for—start bringing the injured to safe areas! One shinobi to one medic, protect the citizens at all costs!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" they chorused. Dan leapt onto one of the buildings to gain a better vantage and frowned at the damage being done to his village. All entrances were attacked and one of the walls had been broken down by a three-headed snake summon.

His shinobi were doing as much as they could to combat the other forces of a main assailant he was starting to suspect as Orochimaru, but he couldn't see some of his key players.

A key family, more like. Why were there no Uchiha?

"Hokage-sama!" someone called from the street. Dan looked down. "There's a barrier around the Uchiha Compound! None of them can leave and it's assumed that it's sucking out the chakra of those trapped inside to keep in place!"

" _What_ _?!_ "

::

Hiruzen, suited up in his armor dated all the way back since the last war, immediately took to the origin of the attack once he learned of what was really happening. He took to the rooftops and made haste. He might not be the Hokage any longer, but he'd give his last dying breath to protect his village.

But he was stopped in the middle of an already evacuated section and resigned himself a frown.

"Orochimaru," he greeted. "I see you've come to meet me here. Come to kill your old teacher—is that how it is?"

The sannin showed his palms and smiled.

"Something of the sort."

He walked around, gazing idly at the empty buildings around them. Such a tragedy that he'd grown up in a village like this. It was always so welcoming and weak that it was a wonder his old teammate Tsunade stayed for as long as she had before running of to who knows where. True, he stayed longer, but it was all for immoral reasons.

"I know you're not the type to hold a grudge. You have no motive for one," Hiruzen said. He carefully watched as the traitor raised his eyes to meet the blue sky. 

"That's where you're wrong," Orochimaru replied as he met the Sandaime's gaze. "I suppose you could say I _do_ have a goal this time around. Destroying the Leaf has always been an interesting concept that leaves such a sweet taste in my mouth, but people can be just as interesting."

His smile widened into a sickening grin.

"Do you know a boy named Uchiha Sasuke?"

::

About a third of the enemy was genetically modified, thus making them far harder to kill than normal. Sakura grit her teeth as her and the boys were surrounded by a large number of them. Of course _they_ were the ones to keep a tab on—they had Orochimaru's conquest in their midst.

She unsheathed her wrist blades.

"Gaara, protect Sasuke with your sand," she ordered. He nodded as both Sasuke and Naruto whipped around to cast her wide-eyed stares. "We were driven out of the stadium to get us out in the open to where we're more defenseless."

"Wait, _me_?" Sasuke said as his eyes glowed red as the enemy started to circle their group of four. "What do I have to do with—"

He stalled for a few seconds before scowling and pulling out a couple of kunai.

"The Mangekyo."

"Than, and you're young and impressionable. Orochimaru's a sick bastard through and through," Sakura scoffed. At the mention of their master and torturer, some of the mutated shinobi raged and charged towards her. She launched herself at them and tore through their skulls like she was shredding paper, felling her opponents like the trees in the forest and spurting their tainted blood over her gray sleeves.

Unlike his time in Wave, Naruto was far from disturbed at the sight and dove into a battle of his own with a mutant that towered over him at about seven feet with twelve eyes jammed into his face.

Gross.

"Sakura-chan!" he shouted as he flipped over his opponent's head to land on his shoulders. "The whole village's gettin' attacked 'cause of one of the sannin?"

Naruto snapped his neck and sliced it open in the same, swift movement and moved onto the next enemy.

"Unfortunately,"—she roundhouse kicked the back of someone's head as she jabbed a wrist blade upside from the bottom of their chin—"that piece of shit loves to experiment on anyone and everyone he can get his hands on— _on the ground_!!!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura dropped to the dirt with their hands over their heads to protect themselves from the burst of sand that shot out in all directions, spearing through all the enemies in its path.

Sakura was the first to jump on her feet and survey the damage.

"Clean work," she noted, patting Gaara's shoulder. "But a little warning would've been nice."

"I wouldn't have hurt you," he informed quietly. He received twin glares from her teammates, ones he pointedly ignored and took a spot close to her side.

"That was dangerous, 'ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. He hefted himself up and dusted his front. "But what are we going to do now? Orochimaru's out there, Sasuke's in trouble, and I know Iruka and Mari-san are—"

He stopped short when his breathing started to shallow.

"— _Mari-san_ ," he whispered. "Mari-san's a civilian and he was in the stadium and he can't—"

He left them back there. In all that destruction, he left Mari-san and Iruka to fend for themselves. Sakura gripped his shoulder and turned him to look straight in her eyes.

"Go. Now."

Naruto's gaze moved to Sasuke.

"But—"

"What, think we can't handle this?" she teased lightly before her expression darkened back into seriousness. "Don't worry. Gaara and I will keep him out of Orochimaru's reach."

He had a family now. She hoped to all hell that he'd never feel the pain of losing what he never had for most of his life.

A new wave of enemies arose in the distance and Sasuke nudged his friend in the direction of the stadium.

"Go, dobe!"

As Naruto graced them with a reluctant but firm not as he took off in the direction of the stadium, Sakura could only pray he'd be fine.

::

Naruto bolted as fast as his legs could carry him. He blocked incoming attacks with a kunai and tried to dodge every limb and weapon that came his way. It didn't matter if he happened to get nicked or cut or scratched on his way there— all that mattered was that Mari-san and Iruka were safe and sound.

When he arrived, there was still some discord from keeping a few enemies away form the injured, but medics were bringing wounded to the tents as well as healing those who couldn't be moved on the spot. Before he could start his search, a hand grabbed his upper arm.

"Go back. Find somewhere safe while we take care of everything here."

Naruto looked up into the face of his teacher. He saw some dust smeared on his mask and the commanding look in his eyes, but beneath all that, there was a strange panic he was desperately trying to hide.

"Are you kidding me? I can't!" the boy exclaimed. He rushed forward a few steps only to be hoisted up and carried back. "No! I have to—Iruka and Mari-san! I have to find them! What if they—"

"You have to go, Naruto! You can't be in here right now find where the rest of the genin have been escorted to and keep safe!" Kakashi demanded. For a moment, Naruto could've sworn his teacher looked afraid... but he couldn't be afraid. He was the Cold-Blooded Kakashi. He wasn't afraid of anything. 

Though over his shoulder Naruto spied upon the shattered stands among the other shinobi treating the hurt, and saw Iruka's back. A sob of relief almost trickled up his throat. He's okay, he's okay, but where was...?

Kakashi started to carry him out the minute his heard stopped. Iruka had turned slightly so that the side of his face could be seen streaked with tears. His green vest was blackened with blood and so were his hands as he cradled a head close to his chest to help whoever was in his arms keep steady breathing.

Blood was all over his hands.

Blond hair was stained red.

"Mari-san?" Naruto whispered. The haunting image traveled farther and farther the quicker Kakashi took him away, the view eventually becoming obscured by parts of the broken wall. "Mari-san, no, no, no—Mari-san! Mari-san!! MARI-SAN!! **_DAD_**!!!"

Kakashi let go of his precious student as the space around them detonated in orange chakra.

::

The Uchiha were trapped in their own compound and had no idea how. They'd deduced that someone had waged an attack on Konoha  due to the smoke they saw billowing up from inside the walls. For an hour they'd all been in the dome, fruitlessly attacking until they could no longer and trying to find out why the enemy would go to such lengths to attack the entirety of a priceless bloodline.

A bloodline which, in fact, was at risk due to the gradual chakra absorption technique that sucked the energy of those trapped until they were merely husks of skin and bones. In two hours, the children would be dead. In three, the civilians. In four, the shinobi.

Fugaku and the scant few police that were out before the dome activated scoured the area to try and find some way to get their clansmen out before it was too late. Shizune and Ibiki had been assigned to the scene once Dan caught wind of the situation, them being proficient enough in chakra control and sealing methods to try and piece together the puzzle.

"I've never seen anything like it," Shizune observed as she peered closely at the dome. She pressed a hand on it and quickly withdrew when she noticed a sliver of chakra start to funnel through her skin. "Not even on my travels with Tsunade-sama had I encountered something of this magnitude. Or even something of this nature."

Ibiki clicked his tongue.

"If we can't touch it directly, then there should be an indirect source powering it."

"Which is nowhere in the surrounding vicinity. Nothing out of the ordinary within half a kilometer radius, besides the damage of the village. If something is truly powering this fuuinjutsu, then it should be close by," Fugaku said. He frowned at the sight of his family inside, barely managing to retain the energy to stay on their feet, his eldest son along with them. Mikoto had gone to aid the medics in the infirmary tents and his other son was hopefully with the others under protection.

Still, he couldn't understand why this was happening. A clan had never been attacked on such a grand scale before—or even successfully.

"Are you sure?" a new voice inquired. Everyone outside the dome armed themselves and wheeled around. A simple monk stood in their midst, or someone who looked like a monk, dressed in Fire Temple roads and a disarming smile. The space between the Ibiki's eyebrows creased.

"Sure of what?"

"That there's nothing keeping the dome up," the monk replied as he eyed the dome warily. "Believe it or not, but I've seen something like this before. Not this particular jutsu _exactly_ , but something similar."

He moved his eyes away from the spectacle and addressed his vigilant audience, adding:

"I'm Hidan, by the way. A wandering monk trying to help."

_'Only because this is fucking bullshit,'_ he griped internally. He wasn't lying when he'd seen a fuuinjutsu like this one. The mess of a dome was a bastardization of one of the seals the Akatsuki used to guard one of their bases; the one the pink haired brat destroyed once.

Not to mention this seal was an absolute bitch to get rid of.

Hidan focused on the compound walls and ran his fingers over the rough texture., The paint was new, only a month or so old, and had barely dirtied enough to be called slightly worn.

"And what can you do about it?" Ibiki questioned. He wasn't malicious in his words, but help that arose in a time of crisis would always be regarded suspiciously. Hidan pressed his other hand on the wall and ran it over the length of the new pain again. then again. Then one more before he took out a spike from his robes and carved out the edges of a rectangle.

Shizune narrowed her eyes.

"What are you..."

But then he ran the side of the spike up the rectangle, the paint scraping and a set of symbols on a sheet of thin, sheer paper. Hidan stepped back to admire his work and gauge Fugaku's reaction.

"There should be about three other tags on these walls," he informed. The Uchiha head sent his officers around to find the rest of the seals as he faced the monk and eyed him from the silver of his hair to the tips of his sandals.

"A spike is an unusual weapon to carry," Fugaku mused. Hidan shrugged his shoulders and retracted the weapon.

"It's just by habit, Uchiha-sama," he answered politely. He looked back to the gleaming dome. "There's a certain way that you're supposed to remove the tags. One person should be at each tag and they should be removed at the exact same time. And if I remember..."

He trailed off meaningfully, but did it more for effect than anything.

"... copies of yourself should be made to retaliate against you. They'll have the same appearance, skill, and chakra amount."

"That's advanced shit, even for just anyone against the village," Ibiki gruffed. His black trench coat waved at his ankles. "But whatever. We have to get rid of the dome before there are any casualties. Hidan-san, stand back. I want you far enough so you don't get caught in the crossfire, but close enough so I can speak to you after this is all over. Are we clear?"

Hidan tipped his head and took to shelter some meters back from the compound. Luckily they didn't have him act as one of the ones removing the seal, and maybe for once being a suspicious person was acting in his favor. Fighting a clone practically immortal probably would've raised him a special interrogation where he'd have to get Sakura to bail him out.

"Sacrificing like those mice, rats, and birds every month is _so_ worth this shit," he mumbled to himself. He spotted the crumpled form of Uchiha Itachi near unconscious within the confines of the dome and scoffed. "Aristocratic asshole. Guess you did die the way you wanted in the other life, huh? Lucky you."

::

Hiruzen and Orochimaru exchanged a few blows hand to hand before the former curled his fingers into the tiger seal.

"Doton: Doryū Taiga!"

The mud beneath the sannin's feet turned to chakra-enforced mud that toppled him towards the opposite direction, but Hiruzen wasn't done. The ram-horse-dragon seal series he performed next had a dragon head emerge from the mud and shoot out shrapnel-like bullets he covered in fire.

Orochimaru avoided the attack and poised himself on one of the rooftops.

"Even in your age, you're still the same as ever," he hummed. "Fine. Let's see how well you do against this!"

The ground rattled and broke in front of Hiruzen's feet as two beige coffins began to emerge from the ground.

They were halfway through being thoroughly summoned when an amalgamation of gray, silvery substance came out of nowhere and pierced through every inch of both sarcophagi, halting the reanimation jutsu of both the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage.

Hiruzen's head shot up to risk a look at Orochimaru's face to see it contorted in anger. Infuriated yellow eyes shot up to behind the Sandaime's form.

" _SASORI_!" he bellowed. The old man turned, surprised to find Akasuna no Sasori standing behind him with his arms crossed, the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage at his shoulder, and an annoying grin overtaking his lips.

"Hi."

"What is the meaning of this?!" Orochimaru seethed. His pale skin startled red at his immense anger and grew even redder at how unapologetic his partner— _ex-partner_ —appeared.

"Look," Sasori said. "I let you get away with a lot of things, but you can't just kill the elderly. That's kind of messed up."

If Hiruzen wasn't so caught up his the near resurrection of the two Kage who preceded him, his vengeful student, and the renowned missing-nin who all of a sudden switched alliances, he would've laughed out loud at the incredulity of the situation. But the fact that one of this was a dream, and actually standing in the midst of something he never expected made the seriousness of it all sink in.

The puppetmaster slid into defensive stance.

"Sarutobi-sama," he said. "You don't have to trust me, but I promise you I'll be at your side against all his his schemes."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes as he bared his teeth.

"You've never intervened in my work before," he hissed accusingly. Sasori found that particular statement false after all the prisoners and experiments he freed over the years, but wisely kept his mouth shut for the sake of the moment. "Why turn now? Why side with a village that has nothing to do with _you_?"

A bitter smile crossed his face, and Hiruzen couldn't help but feel that it looked far older than it appeared.

"I know what you're capable of. I know the things you can do and the things you'll resort to," Sasori said. Melancholy soaked his vocal chords. "This world doesn't deserve your treachery, and if you don't let me stop you, I know someone else will."

Enraged, Orochimaru searched his face and his meaning before he disappeared like mist in thin air. This was not a retreat, the remaining two knew. He would just try to further his plans and get what he came for.

Sasori awkwardly stood by the previous Hokage after sealing his puppet back into its scroll. Killing the Sandaime Kazekage only to save the Sandaime Hokage. Not weird at all. He shrunk slightly under Hiruzen's scrutinizing gaze.

"So... sorry about the elderly thing?"

::

Sakura angrily noted that the enemy managed to drive the three of the past the walls and into the surrounding forests. Gaara could only do so much with his sand, and unless he wanted to unleash Shukaku's bloodlust and accidentally turn against his friend, he had to keep his kills to a minimum. That, paired along with with keeping Sasuke out of enemy's reach, developed their strategies into more avoidance tactics than she'd liked. And now they were being chased through trees farther and farther away from the village as the Kyuubi's chakra emanated from near the stadium.

She needed time.

But ironically, she had none.

Distracted in the half second of pondering her next course of action, she didn't notice the foot flying at her until she instinctively raised her arm to block herself and got the air knocked out of her as she hurled through several trees before slamming her fist in the ground to force a harsh stop in the sharp rocks and dirt.

"Sakura!" a unisoned cry rang out. She hacked blood into her palm and grimaced. If the pain in her chest meant anything, then some of her ribs were either broken or fractured, but one of them had to be digging a hole in her lungs. She looked up at the sight of Orochimaru approaching them with a small smile blossoming onto his pale, wretched face. Then there was the look of terror and anger in Gaara's face as he tried to run towards her only to be driven back by the mutants that chased them there in the beginning.

His control of his emotions was slipping away—she could _feel_ it—but she had to take care of Orochimaru now. She knew either Sasori or Hidan would help him when his beast broke free.

"Do you know how special you are, Sasuke-kun?" the sannin questioned. White snakes shot up from the ground and shackled themselves around Sasuke's limbs and torso that rendered him completely immobile. "With those beautiful eyes... I heard they grow more powerful the more you see your loved ones in pain."

Real fear flashed over the Uchiha's face as Orochimaru turned around and attacked Sakura again. But she was ready for him this time and blocked his kunai with one of her wrist blades, the other coming around to slice the side of his neck.

He stumbled back a few steps and brushed a white hand to his neck before pulling it away. Red. 

She cut him on her first retaliation.

"You're going to be another annoying one, aren't you?" he drawled. Orochimaru threw a flurry of kicks and punches and much to his utmost displeasure, this pink little ingrate had blocked every blow and parried with a force and precision he didn't expect to come out of such a small body.

"'Annoyance' is usually listed under my skill set, bastard," she sneered. He caught her throat and slammed her into the ground.

"An interesting scar build up you have here," he noted smoothly. "Were you ever hung at some point in your life? If you have, tell me your assailant. I _must_ applaud him for being able to fit a noose around you."

Sakura shunshinned from his grasp and allowed her blades to glow a light blue and was able to nick him in the thigh before his tongue encircled her wrist and crunched her against the bark of another tree.

"SAKURA!" Sasuke yelled. He thrashed against his bindings, but the snakes' fangs dug into the meat of his muscles, tightening the more he move and the more he resisted.

_It's not like the bridge, it's not like the bridge, it's not like the bridge, she's going to be find, she's Sakura, she's invincible._

He felt his right eye burned with his single mangekyo as he watched the struggle between his best friend and Konoha's greatest traitor.

_But she's not._

Then a shadow thread shot out from behind Sasuke with its full aim in Orochimaru's direction. Upon seeing it, he and Sakura merely leapt out of the way to stray on different angles of their battlefield.

The fear in Sasuke's heart only flourished by the millions. Shikamaru and Neji emerged from somewhere in the treeline, both a bit dirtied and bruised, but otherwise unharmed. But not for long. Never for long because they didn't stand a goddamn chance.

Orochimaru's grin returned.

Another white snake rose up from the ground and clamped on Sakura's leg, dragging her down and filling the clearing with an ugly _snap_. 

She refused to scream.

"Neji saw..." Shikamaru began. His eyes darted from Sakura to Orochimaru to Sasuke. "Neji saw your signatures leading here and we wanted to help, but—"

"But you've made a foolish decision," Orochimaru finished. Sakura raised her head defiantly as her hand searched for something deep in the remains of her pack.

"Get out!" she coughed. "Leave! You should've stayed in the village!"

Shikamaru looked pained.

"Sakura—"

"He'll kill you!" she snapped. Orochimaru slammed his foot down onto her hand to stop her rummaging and smiled at the newcomers. 

"She's right, you know. You poor, poor things."

He went for the Nara first.

Sasuke struggled even harder, but the snakes had tightened their hold so hard that they began to restrict his airways. 

Sakura cursed her broken hand, berating herself again and again at letting it all get this far. She was strong, but Orochimaru was still an original sannin who she never truly fought in any life. She reached down at the snake on her left and crushed its head with her good hand and pumped healing chakra into the other.

Shikamaru was down but alive.

Neji was next and she was running out of options.

For the first time in years, both in this life and the later years of her last, she built up chakra into her clenched fist and dashed with every intention to clock Orochimaru at the back of the head.

"SHANNARO!"

Her fist landed and Orochimaru was launched farther than he could've ever thrown possibly imagined. Such strength infused with careful control to make it much worse, his body land so startling hard into the ground that his collision made a crater twenty times the size of his body. It took him some time to unbury himself from the rubble. 

"Intriguing," he spit. He hacked up blood that landed onto the brown dirt beneath him. "First Sasori's betrayal, then a brat with the power of Tsunade-hime."

_Irritating._

Meanwhile, Sakura took this opportunity to limp over to Shikamaru and check his vitals. Neji grasped her upper arm and made her gaze up into his opaque eyes and the bulging veins that surrounded them.

"Are you alright?!" he pressed. She brushed him off, but he kept his hand firmly around her arm.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, just—we'll get Sasuke free and Shikamaru to safety and—"

Orochimaru reappeared, this time descending from the air with the hilt of his kusanagi snug between his hands. His aim was for the girl's heart— a heart he wanted to impale on a stake and brandish for all to see— as he was always praised for his spectacular aim.

Sakura knew she could block it. She knew that all she had to do was raised her wrist blades and stop it. She _knew_ that this assault wasn't beyond her capability.

But perhaps it was in her fault that she decided to keep her skills secret, even in the face of those she protected.

Because Neji's hand was still on her arm and he yanked her to the right. What she didn't understand from the action was that even in doing that, his body had moved to the left and he cried out her name.

She couldn't hear him— she couldn't hear at all.

The only thing she focused on was the blade that punctured through his chest where his heart would be and that it stopped merely an inch away from hers.

Her world had stayed silent.

...

And then that world was covered in black flame.

::

Hiruzen hadn't made a move to subdue him, and he took it as a victory in moving up from threatening enemy to vaguely an ally. Sasori had been helping in assisting the civilians against attacks and toppling buildings when a guttural cry sliced through the air, thirsty dark chakra following after it.

That was mildly disconcerting.

With a glance over his shoulder, he made sure Hiruzen was busy with his efforts before making a break for the outskirts. He'd already changed things enough by keeping the Sandaime alive and doubted leaving now would make things move in a different direction.

Gaara needed him more than anything and as he ran atop the walls to the broken section and to the part of the forest where the chakra density was heavier. Sasori stopped at the edge of the a treeline where he found him in the midst of mutilated bodies and pools of blood.

His gourd was thrown to the side and half his body was consumed by his beast. His skirmish with his control was apparent in trying to keep himself from Shukaku's influence.

"Mother..." Gaara gasped. His hands reached up to grip the ends of his hair as he fell into his knees. "I won't—I can't—they're already dead! Leave me alone!"

Sasori crept onto the ground to where the boy's gourd lay and picked up the pink stone shell that lay beside it. A hairline fracture ran along the side and the edge was chipped, but other than that, it would keep its integrity for a long ways to come.

"Gaara!" he shouted. Thick vines of sand apparated from the ground and launched themselves at the missing-nin. He clenched his teeth and twisted out of harm's way. It was like the time Gaara ran away and he'd nearly died from a combination of sand-laden attacks and falling cliff tops. He'd already been attacked to the point where he was positive he could predict Shukaku's general patterns.

Left. Right. Diagonal sweep.

"I'm—I'm trying!" the boy cried. "Mother—Mother is— _Mother_ —"

"Shukaku isn't your mother!" Sasori tried. "Your mother was Karura and she wanted to protect you at all costs because _she loved you_."

The sand froze and he took the chance to slip past Gaara's defenses and kneel in front of his bowed head. He cupped the boy's cheek and tilted his face upwards. The right side was beige and traced in purple and one eye yellow, irises in a rhombus shape and the whites of his eye dyed an ash black. The left side had his love tattoo on his forehead and an eye filled with tears.

Sasori pressed the shell into Gaara's hands.

"Temari's your sister, Kankuro's your brother, Sakura's your friend, and I'm here for you," he soothed. "You won't let Shukaku take over because you're _you_ and you can fight him."

Gaara's eyes widened in fear as he held the stone close to his chest.

"If I—If I can't—"

"You will."

Sasori took out the bijuu chakra suppressants he found in one of Orochimaru's labs. They were crude but effective, and if Gaara couldn't take back control...

He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

::

Not only was a possible Ichibi problem growing outside the village, but there was a Kyuubi issue starting to come to fruition in the village. The section Naruto rampaged through had already been cleared and evacuated due to its vicinity to the stadium. 

Kakashi squinted and surveyed the corpses that lay in his wake. Just like that unfortunate battle on the bridge, he noticed that Naruto was more of a danger to the source of his rage than the ones he was intent on protecting. He _tried_ to get his student out of the arena before he could see his adoptive father on the verge of death and at risk of never making out of there. 

He miscalculated.

"Senpai!"

A ROOT operative landed by Kakashi and helped him to his feet. The cat-resembling mask was familiar to him in the sense that he'd been in the wearer's particular company on a few of the S-Ranked mission in his ANBU career, but wasn't important now.

His attention snapped back to his student when a violent roar struck his ear drums. Naruto had grabbed the lapels of a shinobi's shirt and hoisted them into the air.

" _ **Was it worth it?!**_ " he blared. " ** _Huh?! WAS IT?!_** "

He threw them into a wall.

" _ **He's just a civilian!**_ "

Kakashi and the cat-masked operative dodged a tail that dove towards them. Two orange limbs of pure chakra whipped angrily in the air as piercing red eyes hunted for more victims it could take.

" ** _You never answered me you bastards!_** "

A column of wood shot out from Cat's palm and raced towards Naruto, but the latter dodged it too quickly and hastened towards a few more enemies.

" _ **WAS IT WORTH IT?!**_ "

The fabric of Kakashi's shirt seared against the burns on his shoulder, but he moved to find an opening on Naruto's person. If he could just find a weakened spot and catch him off guard, then Cat could properly subdue the Kyuubi.

" ** _WAS LISTENING TO OROCHIMARU WORTH IT?!_** "

Kakashi nearly halted. Was that... What this why everything...? He grit his teeth and rolled to the side to dodge another attack. If that were true, then everything fell into place quite nicely. Orochimaru had always been considered as Konoha's number one adversary and would certainly sink low enough to wage a siege against the place he once called home.

He glanced past his cover of a broken roof and spied the back of Naruto's blond head. If he let this go on for much longer, he might unintentionally wreak havoc on more parts of the village where others might be taking shelter.

"Cat."

The operative looked his way as he steadied himself into a crouch.

"I'm going to give you one shot."

Kakashi dashed towards the vibrant beacon of malignant of chakra and made the (admittedly stupid) decision to wrap his arms around Naruto and tackled him to the ground. The Kyuubi's chakra scorched his skin through his flak vest to his chest and arms and legs. 

Cat wasted no time in sending another bout of wood pillars from the ground and his arms to encase Naruto, the energy extinguishing in a rush of vapor. Kakashi let go and wavered back, his shaking steps taking him over rocks and rubble and second degree burns coating his body. 

He toppled backwards.

::

Shikamaru was unconscious. Neji's breath grew fainter. Sakura started shaking. Sasuke's eyes matched.

And Orochimaru filled the silence with his laughter as he pulled his sword away and walked lazily to Sasuke's shackled form.

"Why did you do that?" Sakura whispered. Neji coughed and tipped forward into her arms, his blood spilling on her shirt and jacket. His cheek pillowed against her shoulder and she could feel his breath run low and weak against her neck.

"I'm... the one who's going to defeat you one... day," he murmured. His hitai-ate slipped from his head and fell with a slight _clang_ at her feet. "I couldn't let him... do that first..."

"I could've blocked him, Neji."

He tried to cock a smirk at her, but only managed to wobble his lips before his eyes fluttered closed.

"Ah, well... I suppose it was my... destiny to lose... again..."

Neji slumped forward and his chest fell still. Sakura slowly inhaled and set his body gently to the ground as her right sleeve dyed black, the seal ink around her arm melted away. She faced Orochimaru and watched as his smile widened.

"Sasuke," she called softly. The fire around them grew darker and hotter as the fire expanded, and he tensed as he turned to her general direction. He couldn't see her through the blood that welled in his tear ducts at the complete activation of his Mangekyo.

"Neji," he blurted frantically. "I can't see—did he—"

"Sasuke," she repeated. A purple diamond started to form on her head then broke out into dark marks that ran down her face. Her wounds healed in steam and her eyes started to glow an iridescent green. Orochimaru's expression gained a crazed edge. "I want you to calm down. The more stress you're in, the more you'll hurt your eyes."

"But--"

"Shh," she said. Her fists began to emanate a faint blue and the world around them shirted. "The only person dying here will be _him_."

Orochimaru laughed, half insane half heartily. Black flames surrounded them— burning down trees and grass and filling the air with the Devil's breath. He slid into an offensive position and held out the kusanagi before him.

"Didn't anyone tell you not to be naive? Or maybe you weren't lectured hard enough. I'm your worst enemy."

_Obito laughed, half insane half heartily. Black flames surrounded them— burning down trees and grass and filling the air with the Devil's breath. He slid into an offensive position and held out a tanto before him._

_"Didn't your mentor tell you to not be naive? Or maybe Kakashi didn't lecture you hard enough. I'm your worst enemy, sweetheart."_

_And the black fire swirled around them, with blistering heat seeping into the hatred that emanated between them. She could see the darkness growing in her peripheral vision, slowly crawling from tree to tree and darkening—_

"He wanted me to watch," she told him suddenly. Orochimaru's grin cracked slightly as her eyes shadowed into something he hadn't seen in a long time. "For forty hours, he wanted me to look at my memories. He wanted me to see how no one in my life really needed me."

Sakura smiled as tears ran down her face.

"You are not my worst enemy, Orochimaru. My worst enemy is a dead man that killed me once."

She flexed her fingers and the tears ran down faster. The fire reminded her of her trauma. Her Yin Seal reminded her of her place in the war. The wounds on her neck reminded her of her struggle. The man in front of her reminded her that he was nothing in comparison to Obito.

She would win.

"Did you know the mongoose is known for killing snakes?" she questioned. Orochimaru poised his sword in front of him and hissed—how far into insanity has this girl gone to threaten him through a breakdown?

"I didn't."

"Then you'll _learn_."

She screamed out the most earth-shattering cry he'd ever heard and charged at him with all she had left. Tsunade's silhouette appeared over her for a split second—younger, angrier, filled with the will to right the world on its axis with her own bare hands and nobody could do a thing to stop her.

Sasori's words echoed mockingly in his ears.

_"This world doesn't deserve your treachery, and if you don't let me stop you, I know someone else will."_

::

The siege died down some and Konoha had far taken the victory, but some people still needed to be accounted for. Able-bodied shinobi were sent to the forests to see whose bodies could be identified and recovered and who survived from any of the attacks.

Genma and Gai were tasked to run out half a click east where a sensor detected yet a third burst of chakra from an unknown source. A collection of Suna and Konoha shinobi went off to assist Gaara when he'd been spotted unconscious in the center of numerous dead bodies.

Before the two could make it out Konoha's walls, they passed through the site where Naruto lost control. It was the place Kakashi was severely injured and where enemies were charred beyond recognition.

The scene made Gai shiver.

"It could be worse," Genma said as he leapt from branch to branch. "The thing we're looking for, I mean. The sensor said it wasn't as big as any bijuu, but it was big enough for investigation. You think it's more of the enemy forces?"

"Whatever it may be, we can handle it!" Gai exclaimed, hiding all his agitation perfectly. "There could be cause... for..."

The trees around them gradually became ones ignited with black flames that filled the air with smoke and the smell of death. Below, the earth was broken, torn, and peeled away to expose the rock layers below. The jounin exchanged glances before nodding and quickening their pace to see what could have caused a mixture of Amaterasu and earthquake-like damages.

What they saw next made them stop and take a moment to draw everything in.

First was Sasuke. He was slinging Shikamaru's arm over his shoulder, but was on his knees. Dead white snakes encircled him and his face was resolutely covered in blood. And it was still pouring out of his eyes—eyes that both resembled six-pointed pinwheels. Then there was the Iron Maiden, the beckoning cat chamber infamously known to be one of Ibiki's summonings, that was wide open with a mangled corpse secured inside. Last was Sakura, bent over a pale Neji on the ground with her chakra dangerously low and her forehead displaying a purple diamond.

Gai's face turned to stone and hurried to assist Sasuke as Genma rushed over to her side. 

"Is he...?"

"No," she murmured. She glanced tiredly at the Iron Maiden. "He was. But to give a life back, one must be taken in return."

When she forced her head to gaze back at them, her eyes were made of unrepentant steel like the war veterans who killed so much that they no longer knew the difference between blood and water. She looked like she'd been to hell and back, but she also looked like the devil capable of doing it.

"Orochimaru won't be a problem anymore."

They shuddered.

Sakura's fingers curled into a set of four seals, causing the chamber to shut and chain up before returning to the ground from whence it came. She tried to stand and would've fell into a heap atop Neji's body if Genma hadn't wrapped his arm around her midsection to catch her.

"Kid," he sighed. "I don't like this habit you're picking up."

He held her close as she passed out and pressed two fingers against the Hyuuga's neck. Alive and breathing, but just barely.

"Gai," he called. He took off Sakura's hitai-ate and tied it to her forehead to hide her seal. "We've got to get them to their infirmary tents on the west side. That's where the head medics set up to treat the more serious injuries, then we've got to alert the Uchiha about the problem here."

Genma carefully slung his student over his shoulder and took a faint Neji into his hold. When he didn't get a reply, he raised his head and found the taijutsu master staring blankly at the destruction amassed from defeating Orochimaru.

_Defeating_.

"Oi! We need to go!" he called again. Gai snapped out of his reverie. He encouraged Sasuke to climb on his back and hold on and picked up Shikamaru to begin their return to the far infirmary tents. Genma took the lead and launched himself back into the trees without sparing a glance at the destruction behind him. 

Though strangely, Gai didn't take the same course of action. He wanted to get to the tents as quick as he could and get these genin back to safety after the horrors they must have witnessed, but he had to chance a look over his shoulder.

He was compelled to look back, and he didn't know why.

::

_Every team that was put together had a purpose._

Medics rushed over to clear four cots as Gai and Genma arrived with more shinobi to be immediately treated. Sasuke and Neji were taken first, the former because of the blood that wouldn't stop spilling from his eyes and the latter to rush him to the tent assigned for those in critical condition.

"Someone get a medic with knowledge in optical kekkei genkai!"

"We need an IV here for Nara-san!"

Genma extended a hand in front of Sakura when a medic tried to remove her headband.

"It stays," he said. "S-Rank clearance. You can check everything else."

The medic-nin nodded and continued their work as Genma hovered close by to monitor the progress. She'd been in far too many critical states for him to keep his eyes off her in these types of circumstances. Gai, on the other hand, stared at the pink-haired jounin until he forcibly tore his eyes away and exited the tent.

He _knew_ there was something off about her.

_Asuma was training a team of intelligence gatherers._

He didn't know how long he stood outside that tent, but his train of thought was interrupted at the arrival of Hiashi, stoic and bold like he always appeared to be. 

"What happened to my nephew?" he questioned. Gai was uncharacteristically quiet in his response.

"Sakura-san saved him."

_Kurenai was training a team of trackers._

"How?" Hiashi demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Orochimaru killed him, but... Sakura-san did something. She used his life to give it back to Neji."

_He—Gai—was training a team of close combatants._

The Hyuuga head stiffened.

"You're saying...?"

Gai nodded morosely.

"Sakura-san killed Orochimaru."

_And Kakashi..._

Gai thought again to Naruto and the Kyuubi's destruction. To Sasuke and the mangekyo's power. To Sakura and the death in her hands.

_Kakashi was training a team of monsters._


	66. Rewound

**A/N: New Story Announcement!**

_**Haruno by Name, Hoshigaki by Blood** _ **is back!**

**... Sort of.**

**If you didn't already know, it's being rewritten as _ Hoshigaki_, so check it out! <3**

_Sakura grew up in a world of rain and gray, never knowing what the sun looked like and always wondering why it was never there. When she asked her Papa, he laughed and patted her head and said that "God" had a bit of a complex. But he promised he'd show her the light one day when she was older and stronger and could fight with her own sword._

_He promised._

::

Four days had passed since the siege.

The village was currently in the state of rebuilding and the Uchiha were trying to find out what exactly had been done to them and _why_ Orochimaru had decided to attack them—with the Intelligence sector assisting in the investigation. A third of the shinobi force had been assigned to help with construction, but when Hiruzen dutifully informed them that _Akasuna no Sasori_ saved his life, some were spared in researching the missing-nin's information, affiliation, and last places seen.

Taking in everything left a bitter taste in Kakashi's mouth as he weaved through the rebuilding in search of his students.

He tried the Uchiha compound first, the guards letting him by with reluctant grace. Tensions still ran high through the clan and he couldn't blame them, but it was his duty to check the status of his team.  But before he had the chance to step up to the main house, Fugaku met him at the end of the path and stopped him short.

"Sasuke isn't taking any visitors," he said. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"He's injured?"

"No," the clan head replied smoothly. "He's been barred from leaving the compound and seeing anyone outside the clan until the investigation is over. He won't be attending any training sessions until the end of the month, so your concern is unnecessary."

He eyed the man's jounin uniform.

"You may leave."

Kakashi didn't even get the chance to reply before Fugaku turned on his heel and disappeared into the house. It wouldn't be until later that Obito would somberly inform him that the true capacity of Sasuke's mangekyo had been awakened and he'd become a true prisoner in his own home against Itachi's and Mikoto's apparent displeasure in the situation.

Personally, he agreed with them— Sasuke didn't deserve what his father decided was best, but he had no say because clan politics would always be something outsiders could never be a part of.

He left the compound with an unsettling feeling slowly crawling up from deep in his gut. 

Next he tried the hospital where he knew for sure Naruto was healing from the Kyuubi's influence. Kakashi's lips curled downwards as he remembered the circumstances surrounding his transformation and berated himself for not getting the boy out of the stadium quick enough so he wouldn't get to see his step-dad in such a state.

"I said you can't be in here!"

"Why not?!" a familiar voice growled. "You let everyone else in but me?! That's not fair!"

"You're a hazard, Uzumaki, that's wh—"

"I just want to see my dad! What's wrong with that?"

Kakashi's frown deepened as he rounded the corner and approached the room Mari was supposed to be in. The door was closed, and outside, Naruto was arguing with one of the attending nurses. The boy was dressed in a hospital gown and was completely covered in bandages and his IV tube dangled at his feet, but his expression was growing angrier and angrier the more the nurse refused his request.

"How could a man like him be a dad to _something_ like _you_?"

Naruto faltered. And Kakashi intervened.

He set one of his hands in the mess of short, blond hair and leveled the nurse with one of his coldest regards.

"Apologize to him," he demanded. Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he stared up at his teacher, and the nurse sputtered at the killing intent that wound around the hallways like thick vines slowly rising up from their graves.

"Ex-Excuse me? He's causing a disturbance and I won't allow for—"

"I didn't stutter," Kakashi sneered. The nurse sucked in air through her teeth. "Apologize to him. Now."

The nurse pressed her lips together in a tight grimace before looking back at Naruto, displeasure flaring at the edges of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he grit out. The boy nodded and watched in awe as Kakashi jerked his head and the nurse dismissed himself to 'attend to another patient'. His shoulder moved and he was edged into Mari's recovery room. He looked up.

"Sensei...?"

"I'll wait for you out here," Kakashi said. "Go."

Naruto hugged his middle before running into the room.

The last student he had to check on he couldn't find anywhere in the hospital. She was awake for one of the three days since being transferred with all the patients allocated form the tents, but on the fourth day, her records showed she left under the council's official jurisdiction.

That added more questions than answers, and he headed towards T&I against his better judgement. It was the one place he could hope to find any sort of explanation.

"Kakashi!" Anko crooned the moment he walked into the building. "Coming to visit me? Aw, you shouldn't have. I'm flattered."

He sneered and sidestepped around her attempts to sling an arm over his shoulders.

"Mitarashi. Have you seen Sakura?"

"Huh? Last I checked, she was recovering in the hospital. I just visited her yesterday," she said. Kakashi blinked at the genuine confusion in her face.

"She was signed out by the council."

"The council?!" she sputtered. "The fuck does the council have to do with anything? She's under T&I and Ibiki's her guardian—what business do they have with her?"

Her not knowing was probably a sign that things were far worse than he first anticipated. Anko growled an when Genma stepped through the foyer, she grabbed his vest and yanked him into their little group.

"Anko, what the hell?!"

"Did you have something to do with this?" she hissed. He looked back and forth between her and Kakashi.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sakura! Who else?! What's the council have any concern with her?"

" _Meddling_?"

"They signed her out the hospital and she's gone!"

"Signed her out—shit, are you sure?" Genma asked. Anko looked like she wanted to wring out his neck for asking such a stupid question and Kakashi's prolonged presence around her any time meant he wasn't here for shits and giggles. He scrubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. "Of course you're sure or you wouldn't be asking me. Right."

He sighed again.

"Look you two, I've got kind of an idea what's going on, but I've got to keep my mouth shut."

"Why?" Kakashi pressed.

"I'm not saying anything, alright? I'm not about to spread rumors about something like this and you guys should keep it down, okay?" he said. "I don't like it either, but we have to see where this goes. Now just... calm down. We'll wait 'til she gets back and go from there."

Genma silently thanked the interruption that came as Ibiki strode into the lobby with a Fire Temple monk just a step behind him.

"—our thanks. All you need to do is sign some forms before you take your leave," he said. The monk tipped his head and smiled.

"I'm glad to be of help, Morino-san."

The monk was a welcome distraction that allowed Genma to slip further into the building and away from more questions and accusations from the two downstairs. What was happening with Sakura... Kakashi already knew too much from finding out the council had a hold of her. He wasn't quite sure what for, but she _killed_ Orochimaru and sent his body to the bowels of the building. Not only had she done the village an enormous favor, but she got herself in trouble by doing it.

Genma plopped onto the couch in Ibiki's office.

She better get back safe.

::

Realizing that he was ending up nowhere with his own search, Kakashi left T&I intent on finding out what exactly happened to Sakura. The more dead ends he hit the more concerned he grew; he already red her file and knew she was one of those special cases to keep an eye on, but what had she done to warrant the council's action?

He was pulled from his musings once he saw green spandex in front of the Jounin Standby Station.

"Gai," he said. Gai spun around, grinning brightly at his old companion.

"Good morning, my rival!" he greeted. "I heard about the burns you sustained from battle! Should you really be out and about so soon?"

The bandages shifted against the sensitive skin that covered most of the front of Kakashi's body. While a majority had been classified as second degree burns and were easily treatable by medics, some were third degree and required more extensive attention. He rolled back a shoulder.

"The hospital let me go without issue," he replied. His eyes were their normal cold depths. "Have you seen Sakura?"

Gai's grin wavered for a split second, and that was enough of a signal for Kakashi to take suspicion. He glanced to the side and sobered up some, his energy transfusing into wariness as the natural boom to his voice dimmed.

"Sorry, old friend. I can't help you."

"You know what happened."

"Sorry."

Kakashi crossed his arms. So this incident went higher up than what he first expected for Gai to turn into Quiet-Gai. Very little made him lose his steam enough to knock him off his center. Though secrecy wasn't a new aspect to the shinobi culture, the type of secrecy that sunk its fangs so deep it showed was discomfiting.

"I see," he said. He began his walk away. "Then I'll be on my way."

He was mildly surprised when Gai merely waved a hand instead of shouting an enthused goodbye. 

Kakashi's lips tightened as he walked down the street towards the Hokage Tower. There probably was no use in trying there anyways as Dan would more than likely turn him away without an answer, but the worst the could happen would be just that. And if he really tried, he could sneak into the archives to try and find out if—

He stopped himself both mentally and in the middle of the path.

Sakura was Sakura and she'd be fine. 

Why did he care so much?

"If you're looking for Haruno Sakura, I suggest you stop your fruitless endeavors," a voice stated. Silent steps came closer from up the path. "You won't find her. She'll make herself known to you once she's finished with what they took her in for."

They? Who was _they_?

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the clan head stood before him.

"What did you do?"

"Don't make presumptions, Hatake," Hiashi bit in his frigid tone. "Accusations like yours could get you killed."

His pale face was more pinched than normal and the stress was apparent in the lines on his face. The siege had taken a toll on everyone, but what paved the road to victory was still unknown to all of them. Most, anyways, because Hiashi clearly remembered what had to take place for him to make such a bold decision for Konoha's future.

_Hiashi entered a room on the fifth floor: those in recovery and in preparation to be discharged. Haruno Sakura had been taken in the first two days before she woke up on the third, still bright and cheery like she hadn't gone up against one of the three sannin and won._

_"To what do I owe you this visit, Hyuuga-sama?" she questioned. He shut the door behind him and inhaled through his nose before he pressed his hands to his side and bowed._

_"I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid," said Hiashi. She blinked rapidly at the unfolding display. "You saved my nephew's life, instilled a courage in my eldest daughter when I was not able, and lit a determination in my youngest daughter to strive for the betterment of the Hyuuga. And with that, they will not fall privy to the decisions of the clan elders."_

_He raised himself up and saw the drawn blankness of her face._

_"If there's anything you wish, I will provide it for you," he promised. Sakura's lips pursed at the new sort of power that was offered to her on a silver platter. The word of a clan leader was worth more than all the money in the world._

_So she asked only one thing of him._

_"I want to be in ROOT."_

Hiashi's drifting thoughts returned to the jounin in front of him as his chin held high.

"Things are far out of your hands now, Hatake," he said. "There's nothing you can do about it now."

::

Sakura reappeared at the end of the second week of her disappearances like she'd never left to begin with. She was all smiles, snark, and attitude when she strode into the T&I building and into Ibiki's office. Genma perked up from his seat on the office couch and Anko leaned in from her spot on the windowsill. 

"And the kid makes her grand return," she grinned. "Where've ya' been, tidbit? You've been missing all the harpin' on Ibiki."

"Oh, you know, here and there. I'm not one to blab," Sakura responded with a light jump in her step. Anko's hand came down to tousle her hair as the girl hopped onto the edge of the office desk. "Old man! Did you miss me?"

Ibiki grunted.

"No."

"Aw, I missed you too."

Genma let the senbon between his teeth hang out the corner of his mouth, his lopsided grin exhibiting his relief at the sight of her unharmed.

"While all this is nice, I do have to make a run down to the Tower," he said, jerking his head towards the door. "Kid, get a move on. You've shirked your duties enough for the month."

Sakura groaned, but slipped off the desk and dragged herself to the door anyways.

"I literally just got back," she whined. Ibiki shuffled through some papers and files.

"To your _job_ ," he reminded. "You have a stack of work left for you that I expect to be done at the end of the week."

She pouted and followed Genma out, shutting the door behind them. A few moments after they left, Anko's face dropped.

"They got her, didn't they?" she murmured. Ibiki pressed his lips together and didn't reply.

::

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"If I weren't okay, I think my body would be burned to ashes by now."

Genma held his hands up in defense.

"Alright, you got me. You're whole and you're good."

Sakura happily returned the side hug he gave her. Speaking of bodies, she'd have to check if Kabuto's burial area was untouched by the siege. She didn't want to do away with his body because people like him had a tendency to come back when they weren't wanted, and if she, Sasori, and Hidan could keep his person under lock and key, they wouldn't have to worry about having the 'Orochimaru Effect' where he'd live through several bodies again and again. Same with the real Orochimaru; keep the body and the consciousness in one place and no one would have to worry.

Genma opened the door to the Tower and let her through first.

"So what are we doing here?"

"Eh, we need to pick up some documents down in the Hokage's Personal Library," he said. "We need to sort through some things, find some past cases that were archived for reference for a recent interrogation, and—"

Kotetsu suddenly paced down the hallway, face pale and lips in a rough line. Sakura and Genma moved to the side to avoid a collision with him and exchanged glances once he passed.

"That was weird."

"I don't think I've seen him look so serious before," Genma mused. "He and Izuma do a lot of work at the gates and surface-level interrogation so they've seen their fair share, but what could've..."

He trailed off as he turned his head to peer down the direction they came from. A few moments passed before he himself turned some shades paler, the clack of heels started louder and louder as they touched the wooden floor.

Izumo appeared in their line of sight, nervous and worried, with one Senju Tsunade striding in front.

Genma held Sakura's shoulder as the sannin approached.

Her hazel eyes were acerbic, warning everyone away and instilling the thought to back off or she'd _make_ them.

Hostility was one word for it.

Tsunade scanned those standing at the sides of the hall that shrunk away from her presence. No one had ever had the opportunity of meeting her, but her reputation had preceded her so greatly that the mere mention of her name made everyone's core go cold.

Genma nearly averted his eyes to avoid the burning stare that directed at him for a split second. The sound of heels stopped in front of them and Tsunade stared right at his student. Sakura stared back at her unfazed, but with a slight upward tilt to her lips.

"A T&I runt, huh?"

The girl shrugged.

"Yes, ma'am."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and swept past without another word. Once her heavy presence had moved away far enough, Genma stared down at his student wide-eyed and stunned.

"I'm just— _I'm not even going to ask_."

::

Ibiki sat at the counter in the kitchen as he marked up his agenda for the rest of the week. Some interrogations, some meetings, nothing particularly noteworthy to consider. It was nearing night and Sakura had yet to come home, but he wasn't too worried about it. She'd finally made an appearance after two whole weeks and was safe and sound enough to continue her duties, so he'd wait until she told him of what she endured in her absence.

It would be a while until she'd say anything, probably, but he was a patient type of person. He could wait.

His writing slowed as his eyes raised from his paper. Ibiki glanced over his shoulder once, a kunai taking refuge in the hand he wasn't using, and exhaled through his nose.

"What do you want?" he asked as he turned around fully. An intruder wearing a cat mask stood near the couch with a bundled package in his arms—not one of his subordinates. He would've known if it were ANBU member since he was the director of that particular branch.

It was ROOT.

The operative unraveled the package and displayed a set of white armor, smaller than average set, and a brand new mongoose mask with a single purple triangle extending from the top rim to the center of the forehead.

Ibiki's stomach dropped.

"She was being initiated," the ROOT member informed. "It was last-minute, not alongside other candidates. She was under the complete observation of all others in the organization."

"Why was she alone?"

"We weren't informed of all the details, but we do know her admission was suddenly approved hours after the siege. We took her in as soon as we were prompted, tested her, and watched her pass with one of the highest entry marks in ROOT's history."

Ibiki pursed his lips. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the operative sounded proud at the tidbit of information. 

"And you're alright with this development?"

But then he sobered up again.

"... under new circumstances, yes."

Ibiki wanted to ask what those new circumstances were, but it wasn't like he was in the loop of old circumstances anyhow. He took the uniform out of the visitor's hands and paid close attention to the mask, trying to decipher its meaning. The animal was lost to him, its connotation circling around his head but never landing.

He looked up.

"Mongoose?" he questioned. The operative quieted a bit before speaking up. After he had, he soon vacated the premises, leaving the other shrouded in cold understanding. 

Ibiki laid out the uniform on Sakura's bed before walking back to the counter to finish writing up his agenda. It wasn't until late night when his warn opened the door, tossed her sandals to the side, and strode straight into the kitchen to swing the fridge door aside and dig through its contents.

"Hey, old man. Don't people you age need to sleep early?"

"I'm not old enough for that yet," he grunted. He observed her bandaged arms that covered the new seal redone to cover the purple diamond on her forehead. "A ROOT came by today."

She took out some leftovers and tapped the fridge shut with the heel of her foot.

"Good. Then Cat probably dropped off my stuff like I asked him to," she said. She popped the plate into the microwave and set it on two minutes then turned to face Ibiki with that smile that always had a hidden meaning. He planted his chin on his knuckles as he leaned on the counter top.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course," she grinned. "What do I look like, someone without a plan?"

And the ROOT operative's words rang in his head again and again.

_"Mongoose. The snake killer."_


	67. Cornered

**_A/N: Estimated number of chapters until the epilogue: 4_ **

_::_

_Did you forget?_

_You weren't made for this._

Sakura stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. How many times did she have to break her bones because she was afraid the new world would turn into her old? How many times did she have to use concealer to hide the bags beneath her eyes to hide the fact that she forgot how to sleep and resorted to letting exhaustion decide when it was time to rest? How many times would she have to remember standing on the battlefield with Orochimaru as he unintentionally likened himself to the Obito that drained her soul through the tears on her throat?

How many times was she going to allow herself to keep living like this—in paranoia, in quiet, in _fatigue_?

_Did you forget?_

_You weren't made for this._

She braced her weight against the porcelain sink and dropped her head into her hands.

"I'm tired," she whispered. "I'm so tired..."

She used a forbidden technique to transfer Orochimaru's life energy into Neji's. Mari-san was injured. Sasuke was in solitary confinement because she let things go too far. 

But hey, she was in ROOT like she planned all along. Wasn't that _great_? Wasn't that a cause for _celebration_?

Sakura's fist met her reflection, and shards of glass fell around her feet.

_Did you forget?_

_You weren't made for this._

_You're supposed to be dead._

::

Reconstruction wasn't a cheap process and it was currently Konoha's top priority. Funds needed to raised so every and all missions were being issued at any chance, especially with the high ranking ones that paid the most. Upper ranks jounin and above were sent out as much as possible, leaving Konoha at a greater risk than it already was to raise enough money to rebuild their defenses. It was a dicey move, but Kiri and Suna pledged their help if any other grievances came their way.

Kakashi and Itachi stood in attendance in the Hokage's Office dressed in their ANBU attire, their masks hanging loosely at their hips. While it was true the former was no longer listed under active services within the ranking, his assassination skills paired with Itachi's were required for the current A-ranking mission.

"Your third member has just been sent for," Dan told them from his seat at his cluttered desk. "An interrogator was requested to accompany this squad."

For reasons unknown to him, Kakashi suddenly felt a sense of foreboding cause an itch at the back of his head. He knew exactly were this was going as his luck had been treading lower than he liked in recent years. 

The office door was knocked on twice before it swung open and Sakura made an appearance in ANBU armor, a wine red undershirt, black pants, and a mongoose mask dangling from her fingers.

"Good morning, everyone!" she chirped. Kakashi's eye began to twitch.

"Good morning," Dan replied, equally as cheerful. Itachi inclined his head politely. "Now that everyone's here, I'll be going over the details of the mission."

The three in front of him straightened themselves out and stood at resolute attention.

"As you all understand, Iron Country has remained a neutral force in all shinobi affairs due to their unwillingness to intervene and their reliance on samurai," the Godaime explained. "Though recently, criminals have resided on their border and have been causing too much trouble for them to handle. Every time they have an issue for shinobi, they go to a different hidden nation every time to keep good graces and distance. Luckily, it's our turn."

Dan gestured to the map that covered the window behind him and pointed to the small landmass southeast of Fire Country.

"You'll meet with Mifune-sama in ten days and will leave immediately. Understood?"

Itachi, Kakashi, and Sakura spoke in a unified chorus.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Then you're dismissed. I expect you back in no more than a month."

They bowed, slide their masks over their faces, and flipped up the hoods of their cloaks before disappearing in a whisper.

::

It was by three o'clock in the morning and sixteen kilometers out that they took their first break—and by default, had allowed themselves to start conversing freely.

"Mongoose," Kakashi called. Sakura looked up from tearing the wrapping off her health bar and adjusted her mask to that only her mouth was visible. "Why were you assigned to this mission instead of anyone else in T&I?"

She grinned. 

"Karma."

"That's not an answer."

"Yeah, well, it's all you're going to end up getting, _Dog_. And now that I think about it, this would be the perfect opportunity to call you a bitch."

Itachi snorted before he could stop himself and Sakura happily jabbed a finger at him.

"See? Weasel-san thought it was funny."

It wasn't long before the two engaged in a banter they hadn't fallen into since the siege, leaving Itachi to let the amusement fall of his face and rethink the problem that had been plaguing him for months: Haruno Sakura. Not that her generally was an issue, but everything just kept getting stranger and stranger the more he kept putting his confrontation off.

First Kou, then Nekomata, then her secrecy, then the exams, then her disappearance, and now ANBU. Not that all of them had a connection, but nothing was impossible with her, apparently. Things only began growing odd after he met her.

And if he remembered correctly, ANBU had no new members, so she was just a stand-in with a skill. 

Stand-ins didn't get personalized masks like hers.

"How have you been faring, Mongoose-san?" he questioned. "I heard you were in the hospital for a few days before no one could find you for two whole weeks."

"Eh, it was just a pain in the neck, really. You know how they had to question everyone who witnessed the siege and they needed my statements since I was with Naruto for a time before I went with Sasuke," she sighed. Sakura crumpled up her wrapper before stuffing it into a small pocket on her pack. She didn't like where this was going.

"It must have been an interesting statement," he said, his black eyes shining from behind his mask. "Because that mask looks like it was made specifically for you."

Kakashi shifted as the air changed around them, and Sakura fixed her mask to that it was on the right way again.

"If you wanted a first hand account of what happened, you should've asked Sasuke," she mentioned offhandedly. Itachi visibly flinched and fell silent—a low blow, but she had to shut him up or she'd have to spill her plan to them.

Kakashi turned around. 

"Break time is up. We're setting off," he ordered. "Squad, move out."

The farther they traveled after that, the air stayed cold.

::

In the movies, solitary confinement was either in a small, cramped room or between four white walls that gave so much space that it was hard to breathe.

This was neither.

Solitary confinement was the queen sized bed fitted with navy sheets and black pillows. It was the TV in the corner of the room that was never turned on. It was the desk against one of the walls that had a crack running down its middle from where a fist crashed down into it out of sheer rage at the circumstances out of his control. It was also the curtains that covered windows locked from the outside and glass that wouldn't break no matter how bloody his fists would get when he tried, and it was the scattered papers that blanketed the ground in drawings that tried to capture anger, but failed, and turned to be half-finished instead.

Solitary confinement was the room he grew up in because his father thought it was best.

Sasuke sat at the edge of his bed and counted the callouses on his hands. Meals were brought to him three times a day by his mother who would try to coax him to open up and tell her why. But why what? He didn't do anything. He didn't ask to be one step closer to the Madara they all subconsciously thought he'd turn into one day.

They were all accusing him of things he would never dream of doing and they would never listen to the actual words that came out of his mouth, so he stop talking and refused to start again until they let him out.

But how could his family do this to him? Maybe they didn't know, but Orochimaru wanted to take him because he was young, impressionable, and had the eyes that were apparently a prize to be won. He never want these in the first place. It's not like he _tried_! So why was he getting punished for something he didn't decide for himself?!

_Tap._

And his father. 

His father. Uchiha Fugaku: Commissioner General of the Military Police Force who prided himself on fairness and the deliverance of justice in society, but locked his on up without hearing the other side of the argument. 

What a joke. 

_Tap!_

They wouldn't even tell him what happened after the siege. Was everything alright? Was everyone alright? Was Mari-san okay? Was Orochimaru really taken care of?

What—

_SMACK._

Sasuke jerked, stood, and looked towards his window. Kiba's face was smooshed against the glass and once they made eye contact, he pulled his face away and made a thumbs up in the air.

" _Pack your stuff_ ," Kiba mouthed. " _We gotta run after this!_ "

He disappeared. Sasuke hurried to the window smudged to hell with some blood and fingerprints and watched in blurry amazement as a sea of bugs curled around the locks and seals and eventually, thrust  the window open with a light clack. Below, Kiba and Shino were waiting for him to jump down while Ino and Akamaru kept watch for any of the Uchiha clansmen.

"Hurry up!" Kiba hissed. Sasuke's eyes lit up in a way they hadn't for weeks as he ran back to his room, threw a handful of clothes into his pack, and vaulted out of his room. His rescue team urged him through the underbrush of the main house's back gardens and made their escape through a hole dug beneath a wall blocked by grand trees.

_How did they_ not _get caught?_

"Shino's kikaichu have been keeping an eye on the place since we found out you weren't allowed to leave," Ino informed him giddily as they ran back into the village through the entrance closest to the Akasen. "I found some architectural designs of the compound and tou-san's things, and Kiba and Akamaru were able to sniff out the way in most Uchiha members rarely take. Isn't that awesome? It was totally a real search and recovery!"

They wove through dingy alleyways to some place Naruto instructed them to go, something called _Magenta_. Three of their group of four glanced at their surroundings dubiously, especially the at turned off neon signs and the indecent posters plastered up on the walls. They had no idea what they were doing here. 

But Sasuke knew this place like the back of his hand.

"Kaa-san and nee-san said I'm not allowed in here until I know what I'm doing," Kiba said. Shino adjusted his glasses.

"Isn't this the love hotel district?" he remarked, eyeing the road ahead of them cautiously. Sasuke's lips broke into a grin as he took the lead and led them deeper towards the center of the Akasen.

"Yeah. It is."

He guided them to the back of Magenta and knocked on the back door. Some seconds passed before it swung open and Naruto appeared, grinning and ushering towards the lounge area where Sai sat at the table covered in steaming snack foods and chips.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. "Dad says you can stay in the old apartment upstairs until you figure things out, dattebayo. But don't worry, I'll stay too as bodyguard number one!"

"Heh, bodyguard number one?" Kiba grinned. "Sasuke can kick your ass any day of the week."

"But who was the one who lost to me at the chuunin exams, huh? That's what I thought."

"Say that again, Uzumaki!"

Sai ignored the growing argument to his right and turned left, holding out a new sketchbook for Sasuke to take.

"Here's that new paper I was talking about before, you know, the one made from recycled elephant poop," he said. Ino clutched a chip bag close to her chest and recoiled. "I know the texture's a bit rough and stuff but you can still—"

"Elephant _poop_? That's disgusting!"

"Not as disgusting as your face, pig-san. What was your name again?"

"Ino!" she shouted. "Ino! Ino! Ino! Don't call me pig you pale stupid idiot!"

"Pig-san."

Sasuke watched in amazement as four of his friends laughed and fought at the table like nothing had been wrong, like Orochimaru didn't just attack the village or like they just saved him from his own home. Especially paired with the oddly sultry atmosphere, it was like he was in a whole new world where he didn't have to worry about his problems or face the fact that most of his family thought he was a monster.

Shino quietly minded his own business and pushed a plate of snacks towards Sasuke.

"You should eat," he said. The Uchiha rubbed his eyes free from any type of moisture that might have collected there and smiled.

"Yeah. Okay."

::

Mari grinned at the group at the tables before moving into the employee lounge and settling down onto one of the fluffy couches as he laid his crutches against the cushion. His business might not be the best place for kids to grow accustomed to even if it wasn't open, but it was always so nice to see Naruto with his friends.

His smile grew softer.

And it was so nice to be called 'Dad'.

The knob on the back door suddenly jiggled and swung open, Iruka stepping through with a few flyaway strands of hair slipping from his hair tie. His eyes searched the area until they landed on his lover.

He threw his hands up.

"You've been here?!" he sputtered. "You're supposed to be resting in bed! The doctor said you can't be moving around too much until you take off your cast—you walked here too! That's dangerous! What if you get hurt?!"

Mari waved.

"Ya' don't need ta' worry, honey. I'm fine. I've been gone too damn long and someone's gotta be the boss," he said. Iruka frowned and strode over, plucking the cigarette from Mari's mouth and ignoring the pout in his direction.

"You can't bar tend in this state, it's not good for you. It's been fine since the guys take turns covering for you, isn't it?"

"I can't leave 'em alone withoutta boss for so long, ya' know."

"But you're _hurt_!"

"I'll live," he shrugged. "'Sides, I get bored if I'm not up an' at 'em."

Iruka pressed his palms to his eyes and sighed. Naruto and Mari were in no ways genetically related, but it seemed apparent that stubbornness ran through their veins like a new blood type.

"Then can you, maybe, I don't know, bar tend on a stool or something? So you don't have to put pressure on your legs?" he suggested hopefully. The corner of Mari's lips quirked up as he motioned the other to take a seat beside him on the couch, where Iruka sighed again and took a seat.

"'lright, hon."

He set his head down on Iruka's shoulder.

"Is Naruto here?" the chuunin asked.

"With 'is friends. They broke Sasuke-chan outta the compound 'bout half an hour ago."

"Oh."

There were a few seconds of peaceful quiet between them before Iruka fully digested what he was told before he flailed his arms in panic.

" _WHAT_?"

::

The border criminals weren't hard to rid of. Mifune-sama and his samurai reported their base of operation and they set out as quickly as they could. There were no more than a fifty targets, some high profile, but mostly nothing more extensive than specialized chuunin rank.

Only two were needed alive for Sakura to extract information, and she currently had the least important one pinned underneath her foot as his blood coursed with wandering spider venom.

"You won't talk?"

"Stupid bitch," he rasped. "Fuck you."

She rolled her eyes.

"You've lost control of your muscles and have respiratory paralysis that'll lead to your eventual suffocation if I don't kill you myself. Do you really have anything to lose? Because you're a dead man either way," she sighed. When he made no move to answer, she decided to use a different form of coercion. "Horri Makoto. Twenty-six years old, A-rank missing-nin, previous affiliation to Sunagakure but defected due to complications surrounding the Kazekage's decision to treat his youngest son as a non-threat. Isn't that right?"

The missing-nin's eyes blazed at the mention of his defection.

"The Ichibi's container will burn even if I have to do it myself! A demon among men," he growled. Sakura riffled through his pockets until she found a mission scroll that detailed his part in the group's actions and smiled.

"That's not nice. Gaara's a good friend of mine, you know."

Having everything she needed to know, she struck one of her wrist blades through his head and let his body muddle into the dirt floor. When she turned around, she found Kakashi and Itachi staring at her with varying degrees of incredulity, the former only holding a small amount of surprise compared to the latter.

She took a cloth out from her back pouch and started cleaning her blade.

"What?"

"You knew Sabaku no Gaara was a jinchuuriki?" Kakashi questioned. Sakura pursed her lips. Her and her big mouth again.

"I knew about Naruto," she replied. "It'd make more sense for me to know about Gaara too, wouldn't it?"

Kakashi nodded once at the logic and turned back to the corpses on the ground. Itachi's jaw tightened at the way  his senpai brushed off her remark—that wasn't normal. That wasn't meant to be normal. Why had it come to the point where Sakura could say and know things that could be easily accepted like it wasn't remotely suspicious for her to know anyways?

She wasn't a small player in Konoha's shinobi structure.

He knew that now.

"When Sasuke was first questioned, he wouldn't give an outright answer. He kept asking: 'Is Shikamaru alright? Is Sakura alight? Did Neji die?'," he said. Kakashi tilted his head at the other two when the air started straining again. "When we told him we didn't know, he fell to complete silence."

Itachi approached her.

"Sakura-san, why does Nekomata imply you'll have something to do with my future?"

She couldn't escape. Here in this field of bodies and blood, she was backed into her lies and plans because she never thought to be careful.

In the beginning, she resented the life that was given back to her. She wanted to help, but she didn't care if she got caught. If she died, she died, because that was all she ever wanted. 

But then time went one and she had to live again. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke again nearly broke her heart, and seeing them so young and sometimes naive made her wish they didn't grow up to learn the world never could be seen through rose colored glasses. She wanted to make sure they'd grow up right this time around live their lives without having to bear the burden of war.

She looked up.

There were two geniuses in this area and she was not one of them.

How much could she lie, she wondered.

"It's too early for me to say anything and it's too early for anyone to know," she said. Sakura turned away from them and moved her attention back to the man she just killed and to his tight, ashen skin. "But soon."

She frowned. 

"Soon."

She approached the last living criminal and threw his body over her shoulder before she made her way back to the team's secure location. Itachi, wholly unsatisfied with what she deemed was his answer, made to follow after her.

"Sa—"

"Itachi, she says what she wants when she wants, so don't push it," Kakashi spoke as he took hold of his associate's shoulder. The Uchiha rounded on him.

"Senpai, aren't you wary of her actions?"

"I am."

"Then why won't you take action?"

"Look," Kakashi said. He slid his mask to the side. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but it's best for you to just leave your trust with Sakura for now. If she was against Konoha, she wouldn't have been found half dead with Neji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke."

Pitch black eyes that once flickered red carefully observed him.

"Do _you_ trust Sakura-san?"

Kakashi answered in all his honesty.

"I do."

Because he had no reason to doubt her anymore. Not after all they'd been through.

::

"Orochimaru's dead."

Yahiko was taken aback.

"Did you kill him?"

"He killed himself," Sasori scoffed. He met his leader's skeptical gaze. You knew the type of things he was getting into for his greed and power. He didn't care about peace. All he wanted was immortality. That's why he had hundreds of human experiments locked up in his hidden bases."

Konan's eyes flashed as she shifted her weight onto her other foot from her spot at the Akatsuki leader's side. 

"He had hidden bases?"

"Four of them. I could mark them up on a map, if you want," he offered. "Not that it matters. I cleared all of them out before I got here."

Which was not that hard to accomplish, seeing that he'd been the source of Orochimaru's declining experiment population over the past years. Now that the snake bastard was taken care of, those experiments were free to seek the medical help they needed. And those who were more far gone than others were peacefully steered towards research centers Sasori anonymously commissioned to help cure Orochimaru's victims.

Not that he'd tell them that.

Yahiko's forehead scrunched up.

"I see," he said. "If that's all you have to report, you may leave. Thank you for informing me of this development."

Sasori tilted his head and stepped out of the office. Once the door shut behind him, Yahiko turned to Konan with one command.

"Get Kisame."

::

Danzo sat at his desk with his hand tapping the smooth wood and the clock ticking away above him. Sakura had finally been officiated into the organization and was fully recognized as a comrade within the ranks, meaning he had to step down or be removed sooner or later.

The easy part was getting everyone on her side. The hard part was implementing everything in real life.

He carefully cultivated Sakura's anger during the duration of the chuunin exams to get her to publicly act against him in the spur of the moment so show unrehearsed intent behind her actions. And as he expected, he got more than he bargained for.

_The door swung open with a resonating crack as wood crashed against the wall and splintered pieces fell to the ground. Danzo raised his eyes to meet Sakura's unforgiving glower and pressed his hand on the underside of his desk._

_"Congratulations on your admittance to ROOT," he said. She slammed a hand on his desk and left a firm imprint on the surface._

_"Cut the shit, councilman!" she sneered. "Where the fuck were you?"_

_"Such a mouth on you."_

_"I said cut the_ SHIT _! I gave you a_ warning _! I told you to be_ prepared _! And look what you've done—if you listened to what I said we could've cut the casualties by a_ fourth _!" she shouted. Danzo's lips pulled into a tight frown. While that was true, there was no precedent that the threat she knew was coming was Orochimaru. She didn't say it outright and couldn't be prosecuted for it, but the fact she retained such knowledge meant he could jail her for such a thing. He wouldn't, but if he was a lesser man, he would._

_"The magnitude couldn't have been predicted."_

_"But some could have been prevented if you just listened to me!" she seethed. "I don't know if you think that you're doing is the best for Konoha, but the decisions you're making need to be checked! And if I have to be that person to do it, I'm going to do it, dammit!"_

_"There's nothing wrong with the decisions I've made," he countered. Sakura's face changed into that of smug rage as she threw her head back and let out a harsh laugh._

_"Right, I forgot. Should I thank you for not issuing the Uchiha Massacre and preventing the slaughter of a whole people because somehow, you listened to that small part of your brain that told you not to?"_

_Danzo's face fell._

_"What are you talking about?"_ How did she know?

_"Cry me a fucking river, councilman. I'm here screaming at you about what you've done and you're here wondering how I know things? Tch. I hope you'll be able to live with the fact that you killed people you could've saved, because if I was in your position, this wouldn't have happened."_

_With that, Sakura gathered herself and strode out of his office. Danzo was still for a whole minute before he removed his finger from the bottom of the desk, turning off the intercom that connected to every one of the speakers hidden in HQ._

Danzo sighed.

Soon.

::

To see fanworks submitted to this story, you can find them scattered with each chapter update under Stumble [Rewrite] by writer168 on wattpad.com!


	68. Witness

_**A/N: It's been asked if I'm going to make any other Sakura-centric story after this one, and currently, there are two that you all might like to read once this story is over.** _

** Hoshigaki _: a story revolving around Sakura and her father Hoshigaki Kisame._ **

** Nanny _: a story in which Sakura becomes the nanny of Uchiha Itachi's son, Sasuke._ **

::

The wind was cold.

Maybe not cold enough to warrant her to leave this place and think about what she could've done to stop this, but cold enough for her to know that the warmth and security she tried so hard to obtain couldn't be extended to everyone.

She couldn't have known.

Hidan couldn't have known.

_Sasori_ couldn't have known.

But it happened because the three of them weren't there.

_'Because,'_ Sakura thought bitterly. _'No matter what timeline it was, someone would always be buried on that cliff's edge in Wave.'_

::

**Two Weeks Earlier**

With the instance of the siege more or less resolved, the genin who emerged victorious in becoming chuunin were formally announced: Kirigakure no Haku, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, Sabaku no Gaara, and Aburame Shino. Gaining new rank meant officiation from Kato Dan himself in the Hokage Tower (those in attendance, of course. Those outside the village were sent a hawk).

Of the five Konoha shinobi who attended, however, only four showed to earn their new flak jacket.

Uchiha Sasuke didn't make his appearance. Dan assumed it had something to do with the Uchiha again and he wasn't one to pry into their internal problems, so he resolved to set aside the vest for the boy to take up another time. Though he'd noticed the glum looks on the others' faces at the mention of their friends face and made a mental note to check up with the clan when he found the time.

After all, it couldn't have been as bad as their expressions suggested, could it?

::

The strained silence between husband and wife was astounding.

Both sat at the same table each with a cup of lukewarm tea sitting within reach, but neither extended a hand to take it. The husband had his gaze out the window where the leaves were green and the sun was shining, and the wife kept her firm, unwavering gaze on him as a frown pulled at the corner of her lips.

"You allowed Sasuke to leave," Fugaku stated. Mikoto drew herself up to full height.

"I did no such thing. His friends risked themselves to sneak into the compound, break the lock on his window, and help him escape," she stated.

"But you let them."

"That I did," she agreed. Her black eyes crackled. "And I would do it again and again because Sasuke didn't deserve the treatment you imposed on him."

"The mangekyou—"

"He's our _son_!" she exclaimed, her hand coming down against the table to rattle the contents it held. "Our flesh and blood! Our little boy! And you locked him away in his room because you thought he'd grow to be dangerous and uncontrollable!"

Mikoto drew in a deep breath and curled her fingers into a fist.

"And I did nothing to stop you," she whispered. Silence fell over them once again until she reached down and brought down a stack of rumpled pieces of paper onto the table. She smoothed them out to the best of her ability, revealing the smudges and rough lines of drafted pencil work. "... Did you know he could draw? The ones I found all over the floor were never finished but... they're beautiful. I never knew."

Fugaku finally tore his eyes away from the window and looked down at the pile of papers. Unfinished they were, but that didn't make any of them look any less worthy of attention. 

He never knew either.

"He's also been going down to the community centers to take anger management classes," she said. He glanced up and saw the tears forming in his wife's eyes. "He's been trying. All this time, he'd been trying to get better, and we didn't even _see_ it."

Or perhaps, he never wanted to know, because he was so unwilling to see his son as anything other than those before him.

::

Sakura peered at the one card in her hand before looking at Naruto.

"Go fish," she said. He swore before taking another card from the deck. Sasuke watched the game beside him from his spot stomach-down on the couch. He wasn't particularly upset in missing the chuunin officiation from the Godaime—if he went, there would be a chance his father saw and a chance that he'd be dragged back to the compound and be on double lock down.

He pursed his lips when he though back to when he completed the mangekyou as he witnessed Orochimaru's downfall at the hands of one of his best friends. She'd... said some things he hadn't heard of before, like something to do with a mongoose and something else she had to endure for forty hours.

"About what happened with Orochimaru," Sasuke started. Sakura's shoulders perked up as her gaze darted to the seals she positioned around the room, "what were you talking about? Before you attacked him."

Naruto tensed and looked at his friends from above the tops of his cards. He hadn't been there with them because of his... _unfortunate_ transformation inside the village while they were pushed towards the outskirts, and he hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone who knew what went on. Shikamaru had been unconscious, Neji had almost died, Sasuke was restrained, and Sakura did something so unfathomable that she disappeared for two whole weeks.

"Which part?" she questioned. She asked for a three from Naruto's hand which he quietly handed over and let her win the game. Sasuke shifted.

"The mongoose, I guess," he said.

"It was a name I picked up during the exams. We gambled, I won, it was a thing."

"And... when Orochimaru started talking about your biggest enemy?"

He saw _that_ dark flash over Sakura's face and knew he'd stepped on something he probably shouldn't have questioned, but she shrugged it off the same way she'd done whenever someone asked her about her near-death experience in Wave. Impersonal. Aloof.

"I lost control back there," she admitted. "Don't worry about that bit. It's not really that important."

It seemed anything but.

"Are you really okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "I don't want to pry or anything or have you talk about anything you're uncomfortable with 'cause that'd be bad and—er, I mean, you're really sure you're okay?"

The concern in their eyes made her heart warm.

"Yeah. I will be."

::

"Where have you been?!"

"Around."

"I've been _looking_ for you!"

"And now you've found me."

Hanabi wanted to tear her hair out. Why did her sister's idol have to be so strong but so infuriating with that stupid, mocking grin? Argh! If Hinata didn't like her so much, she wouldn't even be here.

Sakura chuckled at the young Hyuuga's expense as she took a bite of her dango. She was enjoying one of those rare days where she allowed herself to take a short break from her duties at T&I and since her admittance to ROOT, she was an operative issued part time and was shared between the two sectors. That left her with some more free time than she'd had before, but at least Hanabi was here—she was starting to wonder when she'd show up.

The smile that toyed on her lips widened.

"So, why're you here again?"

"You said you'd train me!" Hanabi nearly exploded. Her face turned as red as a strawberry and Sakura had to stifle a laugh. "Stupid Sakura! You—"

Her nose was suddenly flicked and she took a couple bewildering steps back.

"That's 'sensei' to you, Hanabi-san," she said. "Unless you really don't want me to train you and you can find someone else—"

"No!" the Hyuuga exclaimed. Her cheeks pinkened at the utter ridiculousness of her sister's source of affection. Why did she have to be such an amazing shinobi? "I... I want you to be the one to train me. You're strong and smart and I can learn a lot from you. So please, train me!"

She bowed low and respectfully, enough so that if anyone saw they'd boggle at the fact that a high ranking member of a noble clan would lower their heads to someone other than a Kage. Sakura stayed quiet for a little while before her lips quirked up even further than they already were.

"Okay."

"O-Okay?!"

"Mhm," she agreed. "Now go run thirty laps around the village. We'll work on your stamina first before we get into anything else."

::

Neji had been moving in and out of consciousness for the past few weeks, only managing to stay awake for a handful of hours at a time before sleeping it off the rest of the day. The medics said his body was slowly adjusting to having his life ripped out of him only for a new one to be stored back.

A miracle, they'd marveled. They'd never seen any feat like it before.

Of course they hadn't. It was a _forbidden jutsu_.

Hiashi stood by the doorway of his nephew's room, distanced as to not be seen but close enough to hear the heart monitor beep with every steady breath. Hinata sat at his bedside and had been in every day since he'd been admitted—an amazing dedication to someone who treated with disdain for most of her life.

He sighed. His daughter's heart was much like her mother's.

"How's his recovery?"

Hiashi glanced to the side to meet a white porcelain mask fashioned into the likening of a mongoose. The wearer was shorter than most operatives, and if her tone didn't give her away her height surely would've.

"They estimate he'll be at full consciousness in two weeks," he replied, scrutinizing her mask. "I see they've spared no time enlisting you into their ranks, Haruno."

Sakura pulled her mask aside just enough to show her smile.

"Mongoose is my official title and you know I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for your last minute vote. Which I forgot to thank you for."

"A small request for the gratitude the clan is indebted to you for," Hiashi said. "A life cannot easily be repaid. If you require anything further, all you need is to ask."

She raised an eyebrow. 

"You're playing a dangerous game here, Hyuuga-sama."

"I don't need a child to tell me my risks, _Mongoose_."

A child she might be, but her ROOT status spoke for itself. Sakura chuckled at the half-baked threat before sliding the mask back over her face. The empty black depths were unnerving to look through, especially since he knew there was a teasing gleam beneath it. The single purple triangle painted on her forehead was a mocking visage that subtly alluded to what she was capable of, and if anyone found the true meaning behind her code name, they'd see she wasn't a pawn in this game of shinobi.

She was a player, much like himself.

And his vote allowed her such a privilege.

Hiashi threw a cursory glance back into the room. Hinata had fallen asleep with the top half of her body slumped against the bed, and Neji was peacefully unconscious with an oxygen mask fastened securely over the bottom half of his face.

When he turned back, he found himself alone in the white hallway with a bright blue post-it note tacked to the wall beside him.

_ You don't need to worry. It won't be long until I get what I entered ROOT for. _

::

Itachi dove through dark leaves and winding branches, his mission scroll tucked safely at his side and his weasel mask hiding every inch of his pale face. It wasn't often that he was granted a solo mission as he was more inclined to small group formations that utilized his Uchiha-centered skills, but this was a solo mission to Wave with special considerations.

The distance and objective was odd as the Hokage told him he was specifically requested to eliminate a missing-nin who'd taken a scroll sacred to the monks of the Fire Temple. That certain scroll was kept in a shrine in the Wave country area and hadn't been handled for over fifty years—he hadn't been informed of what information was delineated, but his job was retrieval, not intelligence. He wouldn't have to worry about it.

He stopped in a clearing and kept his chakra masked when he felt a heavy chakra signature move around in his general vicinity. It kept nearing his location for a steady minute before it disappeared entirely.

Itachi's eyes pooled into red.

Something swung into him and he flipped to avoid contact, landing on the grass and whipping out a tanto to defend himself.

"Konoha shouldn't be meddling around these parts," the attacker said, stepping into the low sunlight. Itachi's attention immediately went to the gold-gilded scroll that hung from their hip before glancing up again. He said nothing and merely slid into a defensive stance. His would-be opponent blinked at the challenge and grasped the hilt of the sword on their back.

"You're serious about this, aren't you? Don't you know who I am?" he questioned. Itachi's eyes narrowed beneath his mask.

"Hoshigaki Kisame," he answered. Kisame grinned, pointed teeth glimmering in the sunlight.

"Eh? I'm honored."

Then he lunged.

::

"There's nothing wrong with orange."

"I'm not using it."

"Why are you discriminating against bright colors?"

"If I'm going to be assaulted by Naruto's color scheme everyday I get to choose whether or not to make him a blue sweater," Kakashi said. He held out the knitted blue fabric in his hands. "Complain somewhere else."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him and went back to knitting her own sweater. It was creamy white with a single stripe of sky blue across the chest. She thought Hinata would look quite cute in it.

"I'm just _saying_."

"Don't."

"Asshole," she pouted. She picked up her knitting needles and continued her work in the comfort of Kakashi's couch as her mind drifted off to the past few weeks. Itachi was too suspicious and Danzo was too non-compliant. If she didn't act up and get all her factors on an equal level and patch up all the holes in her plans, everything would start to fall apart at the seams.

Nagato was a problem. Konoha's power structure was another. If only she could take care of the first she could place all her undivided attention on the second.

A foot shifted against her side and she raised her head. Kakashi was staring down at his silver needles, but his brow was slightly creased to show the tougher thoughts that plagued his brain.

"Itachi was decidedly concerned about something on our previous mission," he said. Sakura rubbed her eyes and withheld a sigh. "He made a point about your mask, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah, it's mine. It's hanging right next to my bed and makes for a great conversation piece—"

" _Sakura_ ," he interrupted. Her teasing smile dropped at the hard edge of his voice. "What's going on?"

Sakura turned away. What was she supposed to tell him, that she lived a whole life before this one and she was working to make sure their futures wouldn't make the same mistake hers did? That she joined ROOT to control the Konoha underground? That she was in constant contact with a rogue shinobi and a wandering monk because they were both fellow time travelers who murdered Kabuto? That she _killed Orochimaru_?

"I... can't," she sighed. "I can't. I just can't."

Kakashi set his needles aside.

"I knew about ROOT the minute Itachi mentioned that you weren't inducted into ANBU," he told her. She shrunk against the couch and tried to bury herself in the cushions and blankets. "The siege wasn't that long ago, but yet the council signed you out of the hospital, disappeared for two weeks, and came back with a mask that connoted your new position. _Hyuuga Hiashi_ told me to stop looking for you because your situation couldn't be divulged to regular forces."

A scorpion appeared in the corner of the room but escaped both their notice.

"Kakashi, it's already bad enough that you know that much—"

"Why is it bad? Why do you have to go in this alone?" he demanded. "I might not know what exactly you've been doing, but what I do know is that it's not helping you get better. When was the last time you got a good amount of sleep?"

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but quickly shut it and pressed her lips together when she knew she couldn't give a straight answer. She hadn't gotten more than three hours of sleep a day since the siege through meetings with ROOT, work at T&I, and messaging back and forth between Sasori and Hidan. Not to mention the data she had to collect to make sure her transition to ROOT successor would turn over smoothly with the council and the Clans of Konoha.

An excuse was at the tip of her tongue before the bottom of her shirt was tugged and she looked down to see Yori with a note curled in his tail. He was jumping in a way she considered to be urgent, and she had no choice but to pick it and and unravel it under Kakashi's watchful eye.

The six words on it ripped the air out of her lungs.

_ Go to Wave. _

_Kisame is dead._


	69. Worth

**Chapter 69/72**

::

She stood, but Kakashi grasped her wrist before she could step too far away. His eyes went to the crumpled note in her hand to the scorpion clinging to the bottom of her shirt to the troubled look in her eyes. His silver knitting needles clattered onto the ground from his spot half-off the couch.

"What's happening?" he demanded. He let go of her wrist and watched it fall limply to her side. "Why are you sneaking around like this—like _you're_ part of a whole game and _you're_ the only one playing it?

She looked away as his eyes softened.

"I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, it's not good for you. Is whatever this is worth it?"

Her face went blank as she allowed the little scorpion to crawl all the way up to the divot of her shoulder. He'd seen an insect like that in her presence once before on their mission to Wave when she was alone, on watch, talking in quiet circles so no one else on their team would listen.

She carefully considered her next line of thought before she spoke. "If I tell you one thing, will you cover for me when I get back?"

A dubious look crossed his features. The last thing he wanted to do was allow her to leave with all the old and new questions bubbling up inside of him, but he nodded and waited for what she deemed enough to negate his suspicions for the time being.

Sakura took in a deep breath.

"I killed Orochimaru by using his remaining life force to save Neji. After doing that, I asked Hyuuga-sama to secure my position in ROOT."

Kakashi openly gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing to try and form the words he really couldn't make come out of his mouth. She fixed him with a pleading stare.

"Ask me all the questions you want later, okay? Just cover for me."

"Sa—"

" _Please_."

Reluctantly, he took a step back and didn't stop her from running out of his apartment. He couldn't stop her—not really—not after having an anxious sea in her face and looking near ready to escape whether or not he decided to let her go. Their needles and yarn were left abandoned on the couch as Kakashi raised a hand to scrub his face.

"Sakura, what are you _doing_?"

::

Sasuke drew on the couch of his temporary home with Naruto sprawled across the floor, his feet kicked up against the wall and a handful of chips stuffed in his mouth.

"Sakura-chan ran off somewhere again," he munched. "Kakashi-sensei's covering for her, so if anyone asks, we don't know anything."

Sasuke erased something from his sketchbook. "So like what we usually do?"

"Yup."

Which was an everyday occurrence since their days together at the Academy, and they already learned not to mind it early on. Besides, if Kakashi was going to cover for her too, it probably wasn't going to be anything too bad.

"So did Sai teach you anything new?" Naruto asked. Nothing much had been going on for him except the occasional time he spent either helping Iruka out at the Academy or helping Mari down at the bar. Sasuke, he hadn't seen too much of, because of his unfortunate family problems and his father's recent decision to lock him up in his room for something that wasn't even close to his fault.

"He said it was time for me to work on motion," Sasuke replied. "People walking, running, and jumping to start with. I also need to—"

_Knock, knock, knock._

Naruto rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up before disappearing around the hallway and opening the door. It was silent for all of two seconds when a new voice started up that made chips of ice trickle down into the pit of Sasuke's gut.

"I'd like to speak with my son."

He could practically see Naruto cross his arms over his chest and growl.

"Yeah? What if he doesn't wanna speak with you, huh?!"

He drew in a deep breath. He knew his father and knew he wouldn't get caught dead in a district like the Akasen, so he must've snuck around for a long enough time to find and corner him here. Sasuke got up from the couch and stepped into the hall.

"It's okay," Sasuke interrupted before his friend could take it too far. "I can talk to him for a little bit."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

The Uzumaki looked back and forth between father and son for a few moments then pouted. "Fine. I'll go down to the bar and help Dad set up for tonight. I'll be up a little later."

He slid around Fugaku and walked down the flight of metal stairs, leaving the man to cast a speculative glance in his direction before placing his full attention on his youngest son. Maybe this was the first time he got a really good look at the boy, but he looked taller. Older. Tanner. And his hair had grown out some.

"You can come in, tou-sama. Do you want tea or anything?" he asked. The walls of the small apartment were old and rickety, beige paint peeling off the surface at odd places. The space was narrow where two people could barely squeeze through side by side, though when the entrance to the living room opened up, Fugaku could see a single lumpy couch covered with patches and some stuffing. Some chip bags were on the low table, a tea kettle was steaming on the stove, and the beat up fridge was covered with various frog magnets.

Simply put, the place was a mess. 

But it looked more like home than Sasuke's room ever did.

"No, it's alright," Fugaku answered. He cleared his throat. "Uzumaki Naruto has a father?"

Sasuke walked over to the stove and turned off the flame. "Two. Iruka-sensei and Mari-san. He was adopted on his tenth birthday and they've been nothing but good to him. The dobe deserves a family."

Fugaku watched as the boy filled a single cup of tea.

"What do you want? Finally came here to take me back to the compound and lock me up again?" he questioned smoothly. Had Fugaku not been expecting the cool tone, he would've flinched. Sasuke's room was cleaned and prepared for him to return, but he saw how bad the place had been torn up; the broken desk, the bloody windows, the crumpled papers with drawings he never imagined Sasuke could create.

Fugaku bowed down low enough for his head to be parallel to his waist. "Forgive me, Sasuke. I never took it upon myself to be invested in your life enough to know that you'd never turn out like Madara did. I failed to realize you were your own person who could choose their own path and make their own decisions."

Sasuke's fingers curled around his ceramic cup.

"I couldn't have been more wrong about you, Sasuke," his father continued, straightening himself out. "You've been able to take care of yourself for longer than I wanted to admit to myself. I... would like you to return home. But I understand if you would like some more time away from the clan."

Sasuke didn't turn away from his place in front of the stove and merely bowed his head to watch the liquid swirl in his cup. It wasn't long after that his father let himself out the the apartment as quickly as he came, but he still stayed in the kitchen, watching as the steam rose in his vision.

::

Kisame was already buried by the time she made it all the way to Wave. Sasori was there too, standing in the view of the ocean's horizon with his hands caked in dirt and Samehada laid out just to the side, loosely binded and trembling at the loss of its most recent master. She couldn't help but notice the air was void of Sasori's usual cheer and snark. He and Kisame hadn't really known each other that well and were acquaintances at best, but his death still stung like nothing else before it. 

"His death was a little too coincidental to be considered _only_ a turn of events," he noted, patting some of the dirt above the grave. "Right after a major point we changed. Right after killing Orochimaru. Do you think he knew too much?"

Sakura leaned against the bark of a tree and crossed her arms. "Knew too much of what? Missing-nin always seem to know something they're not supposed to, but it sounds like you're saying Nagato had something to do with this."

"We can't put it past him."

"I know. Did you already contact Hidan?"

"He should be here later tonight," Sasori answered. He reached for a blank scroll tucked in the inner lining of his cloak and spread it out in front of him. After a quick few strokes of ink and blood, he sat back on his heels. "Sakura, can you put Samehada in the center? It's too heavy for me to carry."

She complied and set the sword in the middle of the seals and watched it glow and get stored away for safekeeping. Sasori placed the scroll in her open palm.

"The Mizukage should like that little gift. And it should help stock up on more favor points you have with him," he said. Sakura eyed the scroll for a brief moment before inserting it into a pouch in her gray jacket. Kisame died by summon suicide in the other timeline, captured by a team of Kumo and Konoha shinobi that included Naruto and Killer B. He'd been captured for information but had his sharks kill and eat him before the enemy could find out too much.

Loyal to the end, she supposed. Only respectable shinobi were capable of something like that.

::

It was nearing night when Sasori announced that they should head out to the small city by the docks. They'd stayed at the cliff for an hour or two, basking in the silence and the sound of crashing water as the sun ducked down in the horizon behind them. Sakura brushed the dirt off her backside as Sasori stood and turned away from the makeshift grave.

"Are you sure you're okay with leaving now? You're the one who knew him best," she said. He looked over his shoulder, taking one last look over his shoulder before facing forward and allowing himself a small smile.

"I've annoyed him enough, he needs his rest."

He jerked his head.

"Come on, Hidan's probably waiting for us at the docks."

And he was, actually. Both devoid of any monk garb and donning a permanent scowl on his face, he snarked at the two of them for taking their sweet-ass time before the whole lot of them got a single room at the closest inn they could find.

"We need to get a few fucking things straight," Hidan said, dumping his things at the foot of one of the beds and slumping in a chair at the desk. "Kisame's dead. Like, six feet under like we were dead."

Sakura took a seat  on the windowsill and Sasori sat down at the edge of the other bed.

"Yeah," she sighed. "He's dead."

"Shit."

Sasori set his right ankle on his opposite knee. "Before he left on his mission, he was complaining about how far it was and how oddly the mission was detailed. Apparently, he was supposed to steal a scroll from a shrine that belonged to the Fire Temple."

Hidan's brows pinched together as Sakura's mouth formed a grim line.

"Itachi was assigned to the mission to intercept someone who was out to steal something that belonged to the Fire Temple. I found it in a stack of reports I was documenting for ROOT," she informed. Hidan suddenly straightened in his  seat and held out a hand to halt anymore conversation. Then pointed to Sasori.

"You said a Fire Temple shrine here? In Wave?"

"Yes...?"

"The Fire Temple has many shrines both among the nations and on various different islands," he explained slowly. He looked back and forth between the other two in the room. "We tried putting a shrine here before, but Gato's corruption made it so we couldn't set up anything in the area, so we fucking postponed the project. There's not supposed to be a shrine here for another two or three years."

Silence invaded the room before Sakura's head tapped against the glass behind her. "He was set up."

"He knew too much," Sasori agreed solemnly. Hidan cocked an eyebrow.

"Knew too much?"

"He knew about us," the puppetmaster clarified. "Maybe for Nagato, that was enough."

Sakura then reached to the window latch and popped it open. A brown form slunk into the room, meowing piteously at whatever circumstance would be plaguing him today and stretching himself at full-length across his summoner's lap.

"You're so far, Sakura-chan!" Kou whined. "How long I've traveled, the harsh weather I've braced, all to deliver this one note from Nekomata-sama!"

She scratched the bottom of his chin then opened the note he had for her, but with every line she read the more her expression melded back into the same seriousness she maintained when she received Sasori's missive on Kisame's fate.

"Nagato's in Whirlpool Country. The island northeast of this one," she reported. Sasori's eyes widened a fraction. Hidan groaned and dropped his head in his hands.

"I fucking knew the bastard wasn't on the mainland. I fucking knew it."

::

No one knew exactly what happened, but Senju Tsunade had somehow become kind of the new Director of Konoha Hospital. Not one person could pinpoint when or how it happened, but the image of Tsunade storming down the halls and snapping at both doctors and nurses alike became commonplace.

She even had her own office and full control of the staff directory. 

Then again, no one had anything to say about her recent uptake on the position because of how well she was doing the job.

Dan noticed the change and felt a well of admiration and pride in his chest knowing the person he spent years trying to find was finally back, though they hadn't exactly spoken more than cordial acknowledgment if they happened to pass each other in the hallway.

But Dan managed to steel his nerves one night after weeks and weeks of stalling himself and walked to her office at the northern hospital wing. He took a deep breath as he stood out the door, staring at the brand new _Director Senju Tsunade_ nameplate level with his line of sight. What was he going to say to her? After all this time, was she ever going to look at him the same way?

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come in?" a voice barked. He suppressed a smile and pushed open the door.

She was still as grumpy as he last remembered. 

The second he stepped into the office and saw her writing off papers next to a half-filled bottle of sake, he was filled with fondness. Really. After all those years, the woman he loved was back within Konoha's walls. Loves. Will always love.

Tsunade barely spared  him a glance. "What do you want?"

He was at a loss of words, but quickly cleared his throat. "I wanted to thank you for coming back and helping the village, and for... staying."

"I only _stayed_ because the hospital was an absolute wreck when I got here," she griped. She slapped her pen on the table and pointed accusingly at Dan. "You're the Hokage! How could you let a foundation like this go to shit? Ridiculous! Unbelievable! If I were half as drunk as I am right now, I'd knock some sense into you!"

Though as she yelled at him and insulted his incompetence of failing to preserve the system she built in the village, his guilt mixed in with some of his awe. Senju Tsunade of the Sannin, one who disappeared in search of her brother's murderer and refused to so much set foot on Konoha soil, was yelling at him. In her own office. In a hospital.

Dan couldn't help but smile.

She paused her tirade and glared. "What the hell's that face?"

"You still care."

"Che! Barely," she huffed. She looked out the window to the blanket of stars in the night sky and sighed. "But if weren't for that T&I runt..."

Dan tilted his head. "You've met Sakura?"

"That's one way to put it."

He wasn't surprised that the two had already met prior to him knowing. "She's kind of like you, you know."

They were very similar in terms of outlandishness and mannerisms, and maybe even in their line of thinking. Both of them did share the Yin seal as well.

But Tsunade shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "The brat's nothing like me. If she was _anything_ like me—"

She shook her head as she picked up her pen.

"Is there anything else you need to say or are you just going to stand there in your stupid Kage robes?" she grumbled. She continued with her stack of work with a smidgen less enthusiasm than when she started. Dan nestled himself in the seat across her desk, the smile still on his face, and laced his fingers across his abdomen.

"Is it okay if I stay here and talk to you?"

Tsunade grunted and proceeded to most likely ignore him the rest of the day, but she didn't kick him out.

Well, it was a start.

::

They rested overnight at the inn before taking the first ship out to Whirlpool at daybreak. Sasori, Hidan, and Sakura were the only passengers on that boat, all gathering on the deck as ocean-breeze fluttered though the air. Luckily enough, none of them got particularly seasick, and the gentle rocking of the ship began to slowly lull them into a sense of ease.

"I'm curious," Sasori started. Two pairs of eyes focused on him, "about you, Hidan. How come you're not batshit insane like in other timeline? You're like, less Madara, more Hashirama, if you catch my drift."

Sakura snorted and Hidan rolled his eyes.

"Eloquently put, puppet fetish. Sorry to disappoint you on not being a crazy masochistic asshole this time around."

"I hate to agree, but he kind of has a point," Sakura admitted, setting her elbows on her crossed legs. "Sasori and I had more or less fallen into the roles we had before, or at least kept our same affiliation. I don't know you that well, especially not back then, but what made you change?"

Hidan said nothing for a little bit as his mouth twisted into a frown. "... Jashin never believed in second chances. In the other timeline, I trusted my faith and was ready to accept my death to that Nara bitch." He scratched the back of his head. "But here I am. Out of the hole I was stuffed in and kickin' shit with you two fuckers. I might as well try to make up for what I did."

It wasn't one of his proudest moments realizing every single thing he believed in was wrong. He was angry, resentful, hurt— _lost_. Death betrayed him. Jashin betrayed him. And now that he was back with the living, he was back to where he was before he found the cult.

Alone.

"I was only a kid when I was taken in by the Temple. The place wasn't half bad, so I stayed," he added. Sasori chuckled.

"You didn't go full monk and shave your head?"

"Tch, fuck no. My hair's too goddamn beautiful. I stayed in the lower order and never moved up. Not really my thing."

Sakura cocked her head. "And Juugo?"

"He was at a base that belonged to the snake bastard," Hidan shrugged. "Long story short, I fucked shit up, broke prisoners out—" Sasori nodded in approval— "saved the kid, and he came along with me. The rest is history."

"Aw," the puppetmaster sniffed. "The tin-man found his heart."

The air of seriousness steadily melted away, and Hidan couldn't help but crack a tiny grin at Sakura's peals of laughter and Sasori's infuriating smirk.

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

And in the far distance, about four hours away, was the shadowed outline of Whirlpool Country.

::

When Kakashi opened the door to his apartment, a cat was sitting on his dining room table with a note at its feet and its tail swishing from side to side.

"There you are, nya~" the cat whined. "It've been waiting for-e-ver! Why were you out so long?!"

Kakashi silently observed the summon until it wriggled its whiskers and sighed dramatically. "I'm Sakura-chan's summon, Kakashi-kun."

"... Ah."

"Yes. 'Ah'. Hmph! Just read the note, would you?" he grumbled. Kakashi quickly swiped the note and took a few steps backwards, flicking it open and scanning the couple sentences he recognized and could confirm belonged to Sakura.

_ I'll be gone longer than I thought.  _

_Don't worry too much or your hair will gray. I mean, if there's any left that already hasn't._

**~Your Favorite Person**

He sighed wearily and carded a hand through his hair. Infuriating as always, even if she wasn't here to pair her teasing words with her trademarked mocking grin. Her short note carried the lightness she lacked when she suddenly departed nearly a week ago, and he was glad for that in the very least.

_"I killed Orochimaru by using his remaining life force to save Neji. After doing that, I asked Hyuuga-sama to secure my position in ROOT."_

He frowned. Her earlier words instilled a worry in him that he wasn't quite able to subdue, especially with the revelations it brought—Orochimaru's timely death at her hands, her new place in ROOT, her being in cohorts with one of the more esteemed clan heads.

Kakashi lifted his eyes and opened his mouth to ask the summon a question but found it to already be gone, leaving small brown hairs floating in its wake.

They tickled his nose through his mask and sent him into a flurry of sneezes.

::

Their arrival onto the island was quiet. Sakura observed the sprawling land covered in rain and carefully noted the ship captain's reminder that they were set to leave anytime before nightfall.

"This is it, huh?" Hidan hummed as they walked the path towards the ominously large tree they spotted in the distance. "I didn't spend that much time with the fucker before Madara, but I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew we were here."

Sasori turned an open hand to the sky and let the water drops seep into the groves of his fingertips. "He knew the second we got here. This is his rain." His eyes went back to the large tree nonsynonymous to the others around it, just as out of place as a stick stuck straight up in the mud. "He knew we'd come."

"Then let's not keep him waiting," Sakura said, slicking her wet hair from her face and bounding forward as the other two followed suit.

::

Nagato traced his fingers over the etchings he made over the new years of living. It was the names he knew, the theories he conjured, and the evidence of his life's work curled around him like a carapace for him to keep believing.

He was making a change.

He was bettering the world.

He was one step closer to _peace_.

The other three, though, he wasn't too sure about. He didn't doubt their good intentions or their drive to make a change in the world, but was unclear of the magnitude their efforts reached. Bigger changes made bigger ripples, and those were the types of adjustments needed to fix this broken world. 

He shifted his head slightly when the three chakra signatures he felt earlier had finally entered the small nook on the on the island he considered his sanctuary.

"Good morning," he greeted softly. Nagato turned towards them, his only visible eye glowing lightly in the dim shade of the inner tree. "Hidan, it's nice to see you again."

Hidan's lips thinned, but he said nothing and Nagato took it it in stride. He moved on to the next person he was most familiar with. "Sasori. I haven't seen you since the other timeline."

"But it wasn't your body I interacted with, right?" Sasori mentioned. "I never met you in person. I only met Pein."

"You did," Nagato admitted with a head tipped in acquiesce. His gaze then went to the last member of the group—one who was a complete stranger to every thing he'd come to know. "You must be Sakura. We never had a chance to meet in this time or the last."

She gave him a wan smile. "Naruto got to you before I had the chance to say hi."

"Uzumaki Naruto," he mused lowly. He took a step to the side, ignoring the way the other three braced for an attack. "It's been a long time since then, hasn't it? How has he been?"

"Fine."

"Truly?"

"His family loves him justly," she answered. Clipped, but polite. Such a tone was unbefitting coming out of such a young child, but he supposed in the light of their peculiar situation, her soul was just as old and hardened as the rest of them. 

Returning to the topic at hand, he was surprised to find that Naruto had found himself a family in the lieu or the deaths of his parents. Nagato was positive Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were dead.

He did, with a heavy heart, watch them die after ensuring the release of the Kyuubi.

_'Some things aren't meant to be changed,'_ he assured himself that day. _'The rise of Uzumaki Naruto was crucial.'_

"Catching up is nice, but we didn't come here for idle chat," Sasori disrupted carefully.

"Then what did you come here for?"

"Did you kill Kisame?" Hidan questioned, speaking up for the first time since his arrival. Nagato's eye shone an interesting purple.

"It was only for the world's best interest. I wouldn't have had to kill him if he hadn't found this place. By accident, perhaps, but he already knew too much," he answered truthfully. "What was I supposed to do? Let him run amok?"

Sasori's cheek twitched. "He didn't need to die."

"And as I said, _he knew too much_ ," Nagato stressed. "Do you think people could be trusted with the knowledge of time travel? The four of us coming back is enough as it is, and a fifth was just an interloper that shouldn't have been." He felt the air thicken around him as he rose to full height. Hidan didn't like that stance. "I don't know when all of you came to this timeline, but I awoke one day to find myself at Akatsuki's beginning. Yahiko was supposed to die that day against Sanshouo no Hanzo."

Fingers flexed and an eye pulsed, sending a thrumming energy careening through the bark of the hollowed tree.

"But he's not dead, is he? He finally gets to live the life he deserves to live—something he wasn't able to do back then. I was able to change that and I was able to change his fate!" he claimed. He turned a blind eye to the wave of unease that rippled through his audience. "Then I realized I could change the future—it's the same for all three of you, isn't it? Hidan? Sasori? Sakura? The world didn't have to become what we had to live through!"

Nagato's arm swept into a wide arc to motion the point he'd been leading up to.

"Since then, I've been trying to change events or jump start the ones the should've happened. I left Akatsuki and did my research. What could I do to finally bring the peace everyone so desperately wanted? Maybe I'd kill Madara. Maybe I'd try to halt the Uchiha Massacre with a distraction. Maybe I'd avert a village's attention on someone to have them try to find a different perpetrator. Maybe—"

"Wait," Sakura interrupted. Her face scrunched up like she was trying to discern something and she blinked a few times to try and get her thinking straight. "The Uchiha Massacre. The distraction. What _exactly_ did you do?"

He regarded her easily. Maybe _too_ easily. "I set fire to one of the civilian districts."

Several things happened at once, but not in the way Nagato expected.

Hidan voiced his obvious displeasure by drawling out a pronounced _what the fuck_ , pinching the bridge of his nose and mumbling obscenities under his breath. Sasori appeared notably worried and upset, but that was more of what he expected to receive than the blank, unresponsive way Sakura held herself.

Sasori looked at her. "You're not going to..." _...try to kill him?_

"No," she sighed quietly. She avoided making any sort of eye contact with anyone. "It won't do anything if I did."

Nagato had no idea what they were talking about—even Hidan looked somewhat lost—but the sole Akatsuki member in the room drew in a deep breath before facing the other red head with a scowl that draped over a lukewarm anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You just said you set fire to a civilian district like it was any other day. Like you didn't _willingly_ kill people who couldn't defend themselves," he accused. "You can't 'save' a group of people by killing another of equal— _even more_ innocence. What kind of backwards logic is that?"

"It was the only way—"

"You know damn fucking well it wasn't the only way!" Hidan exclaimed. "Fucking—see, this was the type of shit that made me bail out on you. I don't know what Madara did to fuck you up beyond belief or if you were already this far gone, but you're the exact same crazy bastard bent on some fucked version of 'peace' like the old timeline! No, this shit's even worse because you know what you did wrong and you still did the same shit _anyways_!"

Nagato gritted his teeth and took a step forward. "I had to change the future before a repeat like that disaster could happen again. Am I in the wrong for wanting to change the world?!"

They all went silent. The tree they were in reverberated with angry chakra and the rain outside had heavied significantly. Thunder boomed. lightning crackled, but all was still within that tree.

Then Sakura spoke up.

"No," she said, her voice cracking. "But you wanted to change the world so bad that you forgot you had to change yourself first. I know. I was like that, too."

The silence stretched on and the rain was unrelenting.

"All of us have changed something since coming here, and we all probably thought we didn't deserve it at one point. For me, at least, I knew damn well I didn't deserve this second chance. _I killed myself_. I didn't want to come back, but here I am," she said. Sasori glanced at the ground. Hidan's jaw tightened. Nagato kept staring at her. "I... I thought I could change things by continuously putting my life at risk because I didn't care about me—I wanted everyone else to live with what they should've had before."

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. "Nagato-san, when was the last time you were happy? That you did something for yourself? Or when you ever changed for _you_?"

Nagato opened his mouth ready to retort, but found himself unable to form a syllable. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? For the world to be a better place than what he lived through.

But was he living? Was he happy?

... When was the last time he saw the people he cared about the most?

_When was the last time he saw Yahiko and Konan?_

"You can't have a better world without being better for it," she murmured. Nagato turned his head to look at the etchings. Names he knew. Theories he conjured. The evidence of his life's work. 

Though looking now, he couldn't see his name among them. Just his obsession with trying to right a world he'd done more wrong for. He didn't blame them if they came her to kill him, with the decisions he made and the fact that he was wrong again. 

Just like Hidan said, he was exactly as he'd been before.

"We'll leave you here," Sasori said. Nagato's head snapped back towards them."If you keep doing what you're doing, we'll stop you."

"You're... letting me _go_? After everything?"

Hidan sighed noisily. "We can't blame you for having good intentions. What you did was fucked up, but you were only trying and you were given a second chance like the rest of us. You still have time."

He went out first, squeezing out the entrance of the tree and heaving another sigh as he stepped out into the assault of rain without looking back. Then Sasori left with a nod goodbye and the flip of his black cloak to cover his head. Last was Sakura, his stranger, who smiled at him through watery eyes before taking her leave as well.

Nagato only watched, bewildered, as they left him alone. 

Alive. 

With one last chance.

::

"So we just wait and see what he chooses?" Sasori asked. Boarded back on the boat and heading back to Wave, they each huddled in the towels the captain happily provided for them.

"What else?" shrugged Sakura. "We did what we could. We can only hope he'll do the right thing from now on."

Hidan snorted. "But if he doesn't, we kick his shit in like we did Kabuto. I fucking call dibs this time."

The ship's horn sounded and the vessel lurched, announcing their departure from the island. The decision they made wasn't perfect by any means and they had every reason to kill him there, but what would that prove? Nagato meant well, just like the rest of them. Even he deserved to try and fix the past.

Sakura glanced out one of the portholes, the sound of a new banter filling the cabin and felt some of the weight lift off from her shoulders.

Peace was an interesting thing.

And for once in her long life, with all things considered and all the bumps in their path, it all felt ... welcome.

Like she was finally home.  


	70. Omake VII: Ghost

It was almost like a ghost had come back, haunting the lives of the ones who once loved them and becoming the beacon of reminder of a life lost—only it wasn't a ghost. It wasn't some apparition or trick of the light, but a little girl with the blackest hair and eyes the color of spring trees.

Sachiko looked so much like her it scared him.

Naruto paused his work, his hand hovering over the mouse pad of his laptop as he looked to the side with a guilty grimace.

_Her_.

When did Sakura become just _her_?

He glanced down at that hovering arm. His memory flashed and for a moment—a brief, agonizing moment—his hand was covered with the warm slick of blood all the way up to his elbow as his skin met meat, bone, puncturing all the way through—

_She wasn't breathing and she was bleeding out so profusely that her blood was pooling around their knees. Tears started to drip down his cheeks as he called out her name like a prayer._

Naruto covered his mouth with his other hand and spun towards the window behind him and hurriedly slid the glass to the side. He sucked in the fresh air and tried to still his frayed nerves.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

He... He hadn't had a memory like that since far, far before Boruto was born. Maybe even longer than that.

_"Do you think she did what she did because she loved you?"_

In fact, he realized with an even more drowning sense of guilt, he hadn't thought about her more than the best medic, his best friend, a hero.

... No.

_"She wasn't a hero—she_ needed _one! She was scared and alone and thought  she'd never be good enough! Why don't you know that?! You thought she sacrificed herself to peace? She didn't! No one saw she was tired! No one saw she gave up! Everyone thought she was okay but she wasn't!"_

How long had she been that way? How long had Sakura—bright, cheerful, temperamental Sakura—been scared and alone? He should've been there for her, but all he thought was that she wanted Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. His life was so centered around getting one of his best friends back that he was blind to what was happening with the other.

_"Why didn't you help her, Naruto?! Why didn't anyone?!"_

"I didn't know," he whispered. A tear trailed down his cheek as his voice cracked. "Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I'm so, so, sorry." He choked on his words. "You and Sachiko deserved so much _more_."

::

Sasuke admitted to it. He wasn't a good person.

He'd done so many regrettable things over the course of his life that he couldn't possibly make up, and he accepted the fact that he had to live with every single mistake he made until he was lowered into the ground. Leaving Konoha was one. Devoting the majority of his youth to revenge was another. Killing his innocent brother was at the top of his list. Letting Orochimaru culture his hatred was close behind. Wanting to destroy Konoha was a horrible decision, and so was trying to kill Naruto.

But if he really wanted to get down to it, one of the handful of events that truly shook him to his core was the accidental murder of one of the only people who refused to give up on him.

Haruno Sakura.

_A heart was in his hand._

He hadn't meant to kill her. Of course he hadn't meant to kill her, he'd been aiming for Naruto, but he really hadn't meant to kill him either he just—he'd—it was only supposed to—

_Her eyes were unfocused and torpid, staring up at absolutely nothing._

Sasuke sighed and dropped his face in his hands.

He was just one big fuck up, wasn't he? What the hell was he thinking back then?

_"So what are you going to do? Strangle me? Stab me? Or are you going to kill me the same way you killed Haruno Sakura—by ripping my heart out of my chest?"_

And there was Sachiko, someone completely unexpected and someone who brewed even more regret about Sakura and the horrors war brought upon even the most innocent of people.

Then Naruto told him that the accidental murder wasn't an accident at all.

Sakura had _wanted_ to die, and his heart clenched at the thought. Once, when he was younger, he wanted to avenge the deaths of his family. His blood. But in the end, he just killed the ones who cared about him, didn't he?

::

Sachiko had been walking down a park trail with Pakkun when she noticed a small, furry body lying at the far edge against a rock. As she drew closer, she found it to be a kitten; brown, meowing faintly, and exposing a deep cut down its side.

"I know I don't like cats, but that's just messed up," Pakkun grunted, casting a sympathetic eye at the feline. "'Specially since he's only a baby. Hey kid, if we get him to the vet's quick enough we might be able to—

He stopped when Sachiko readily kneeled down on the dirt and inched towards the fallen creature. "I-I can help him. I think. The wound's not too deep if I just..."

His jaw dropped slightly when her hand started to glow a crystalline green shimmering in the sunlight as she mended the kitten's skin until nothing but a pale pink scare was left. Healing the stray, just like that. Wasn't this just a civilian girl?

She sat back on her heels and gently scooped up the little cat in her arms.

"Where'd you learn to do that, kid?" Pakkun questioned curiously. He poked her arm with his nose and she jolted slightly at how cold it was.

"I-I, um, I-I studied some basic healing b-back in my old village—"

"Did you?" a new voice queried. Sachiko nearly squeaked at who appeared at her side, tall and imposing with an air of authority she didn't dare questioned. Even the pug had taken a few cautious steps to the side. "The village you're from, I heard Kakashi say there weren't any shinobi that resided there. How exactly did you learn to collect healing chakra in your hands?"

"I... I..."

Tsunade crossed her arms. "Speak up, girl!"

"I pr-practiced myself!" she stammered. Her hands brought the kitten closer to herself as it nodded off at the relief of pain from its side. "I helped out a-at the clinic and made remedies and I... I just want to he-help people."

She shrunk under the scrutinizing gaze of the woman who was once her mother's mentor. She hadn't meant to get caught practicing medical ninjutsu along the street like this. All she wanted to do was go on a nice walk with one of Kakashi's summons and maybe get some ice cream before going to visit the war memorial. Though now, she recalled her mother's words on years-worn paper that detailed the exact person currently standing before her.

_ Tsunade-shishou was one of the strongest forces in my life. She was made of unbreakable steel and had a tongue as sharp as her wit. She was also the first person to introduce me to alcohol, can you believe that? Teaching a fourteen year old to win bar bets and how to throw back the meanest shots. She's a crazy woman, and I love her all the more for it. _

_ After I asked her to train me, she pushed and pushed and pushed because she believed in what I would become. I didn't want to let her down, not after she lost so many others before. _

_I... I couldn't keep the promise I made to myself. I couldn't make her proud._

_ Please tell her I'm sorry. That I wasn't strong enough to continue on for her. _

Tsunade eyed the girl for a few more moments before pointing a well-manicured finger her way. "Stand up."

Sachiko did. Then the woman looked at the little pug hanging awkwardly off to the side. "Pakkun, tell Kakashi she's going to be with me the rest of the day."

"Yes ma'am," he said. He nodded Sachiko's direction. "See ya, kid."

"B-Bye..."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the other two in a careful silence. Tsunade stared straight through Sachiko, observing every inch of her appearance, her expression—her _soul_ , then promptly turned on her heel.

"Come on," she commanded. The girl held the kitten closer to her chest. "We're going to the hospital."

Not knowing what else to do, Sachiko swallowed down her fears and followed

::

Sachiko stared down at the dead fish on the table. Recently dead, actually. The net Tsunade made her catch it with was dripping at her feet, and the ex-Hokage herself was leaning against a pillar while holding the kitten and watching her every movement. She had no clue what was happening or why there was a small river running through the hospital's archives, but she couldn't will herself to question the instruction expected of her.

Resuscitate the fish.

Dutifully, she raised her hands, concentrated hard enough for them to glow that crystalline green she had earlier, and pressed it against the fish's side. Three seconds passed, then twelve, then twenty-two, then thirty.

And the fish began flailing on the metal table top.

Sachiko brightened at her success and quickly lowered the flopping fish back into the water. When she looked up, Tsunade had lost all the severity around her eyes and was staring at her with a sort of softness that certainly wasn't there before. She set the brown kitten down onto the floor and approached the young girl.

"Sakura wasn't able to do that the first time like you did," she said. "She certainly was faster than most, though it took her about a week even with her previous shinobi training. You did good."

Sachiko flushed at the praise. "Th-Thank you." She gazed back to the fishing net on the ground. "Um, so when my mother was your st-student, she was—um—she was advanced?"

"More than I expected," Tsunade admitted. "She came to my office suddenly when she was thirteen, you know, made a plea to become my student because she resolved not to fall behind Naruto and Sasuke anymore."

Her voice grew quiet. Distant, even.

"I saw that she was struggling. There were signs—scars, I... I wasn't convinced when she said she was okay, but I didn't do a damn thing about it. I'm sorry I could protect her, Sachiko. I was supposed to, but I didn't," she murmured. Red-painted lips were pulled into a guilty frown as she somberly regarded her old student's living legacy; a child who didn't grow up with stories of her parents' lives and their triumphs, but had to wallow in the dark until she learned her father was a man gone mad and her mother ended up a victim to both him and her own being.

Sachiko, on the other hand, felt her earlier elation flush away as it was replaced with a large hole in her chest. She knew she'd be angry, maybe she'd always harbor a small knot of resentment inside of her on behalf of her mother, but here was someone _attesting_ for their wrongs, _knowing_ what they did was wrong, and _owning_ up to the fact that it was wrong. Tsunade hadn't helped her mother, but she knew that the woman only ever wanted to.

"My mother she... told me about her life here. Before the war," Sachiko started quietly. Tsunade's eyes flickered upwards. "She told me about the Academy, Team Seven, Orochimaru, your training, the war... everything. It w-was like her autobiography in my hands." The girl raised her head and met those sad eyes. "She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry. That sh-she couldn't make you proud and that she wasn't stro-strong enough for you."

The ex-Hokage was confused until her face abruptly twisted in pain and she turned to hide her expression. " _She's_ the one telling me sorry? That little—what's—I'm—argh! That girl, I swear! She was one of the strongest brats I knew!"

Then her shoulders slumped forward, defeated.

"But she didn't believe me. Why couldn't I make her think any _different_?"

::

Naruto walked home alone that middle of the night, moon high in the air and a crick in his neck that he was trying to wriggle out. He'd just finished sifting through several mountains of paperwork and attended at least two meetings, if he remembered correctly. He'd be sure to catch up on his sleep this time, for a few hours maybe, before going to work tomorrow and have Shikamaru talk his ear off abou—

He stopped at the edge of the Fourth Shinobi World War memorial and peered at the bronze leaf statue. _'Why was Sachiko alone so late at night?'_

That surge of guilt he drowned in earlier had resurfaced some, the sight of her standing there saddening him to his core. She shouldn't have to be able to be all on her own like that just like he'd done as a child so many times before. 

He knew what it was like to feel alone. _Be_ alone.

Naruto pursed his lips and walked towards her. "It's kind of late, don't you think?"

She shied away when he neared, and that made his guilt soar even further as she tucked in on herself and gripped her upper arms. She was silent, and though he wasn't surprised, Naruto took a spot next to her a meter or so away and gazed up at the memorial.

"I hate me too. For what I did," he said. The stars twinkled overhead, shining in the darkness beside a moon whose light was almost too bright to love. "Sakura-chan... I... I can't forget about what I did to her. I thought all she wanted was for Sasuke to come back."

There was a beat of silence.

"... She didn't."

"She didn't," Naruto solemnly agreed. Sachiko finally raised her eyes and raked her stare over her mother's name carved in bronze and polished like it was carved just yesterday. 

"She told me..." Her bottom lip wobbled. "S-She wrote to me about you."

He almost flinched. "Yeah?"

"She hoped you would make your dream of becoming Ho-Hokage and that you'd lead the village in a way n-not seen since the Shodai's time, and..." Sachiko trailed off. She looked up and gasped, seeing tears flow freely down the Nanadaime's cheeks. He pressed the back of his sleeve against his face and tried to stifle the sorrows that didn't dare relent.

"She-She believed in me? _That much_?" he grieved. She could only stare. Here was a Kage hailed as a hero across the world reduced to sobs at the mere fact that his old friend thought he'd have a bright future.

Her heart shattered, messy and guilt-ridden.

_Please, please don't hate them. They did nothing wrong._

"I shouldn't have ye-yelled at you. I'm sorry," she apologized. Naruto shook his head as he wiped his eyes.

"It's not your fault—"

"—No, I—"

"—It really—"

Their sentences were jumbled and their apologies melted into each other's for half a minute until they stopped and realized their words had turned into nothing but a sincere, nonsensical shamble. Small chuckles suddenly sprung from their lips as they understood what they were just doing: stammering over who was to take the blame.

They were a mess, weren't they?

"Sakura-chan would be laughing at us now for arguing like this, huh?" Naruto sniffed. "Sorry, sorry, just... can we start over? The two of us?"

Sachiko took some seconds, blinking through her blurry vision, before slowly nodding. He perked up immediately and stuck out his hand. "Then it's nice to meet you! My name's Uzumaki Naruto, the Nanadaime Hokage!"

His grin was as dazzling as the sun on a warm Konoha day and she slowly took his hand, a small smile blooming on her face.

"I-I'm Haruno Sachiko. It's nice to meet you, Hokage-sama."

::

_To be continued in Stumble [Epilogue]_


	71. Time

Yagura carefully scanned the scroll, looking for any sort of genjutsu or some trick of the light. Samehada had been lost to Kirigakure for years ever since it was lost to the possession of one Hoshigaki Kisame after he defected from his village. They were willing to accept the sword probably wouldn't fall into their hands again, but here it was. In perfect condition.

"You say Hoshigaki is dead?" he clarified. "Were you the one who killed him?"

Sakura shook her head. "But a Konoha shinobi did. They weren't aware Kisame kept Samehada, I think, but I was able to get my hands on it before they did."

He quirked an eyebrow. "So you decided to turn it in to me?"

"I don't see you complaining."

Yagura chuckled lightly and walked around his desk to store the scroll in a safe place. Once again, the girl had managed to surprise him in one of the unlikeliest of cases. It also further cemented the trust they had and the favors he owed her, especially now that she was already a ROOT member and was on her merry path to taking Shimura Danzo's place, just like she said she would.

"True. I'm not," he said. "But, this is something I owe you immensely for. That Kiri owes you. What do you want?"

She gave a little shrug and smiled politely. "Nothing much, Yagura-sama. I just hope this alliance doesn't fall apart."

It was a lot for a shinobi to ask of a Kage—a Kage that wasn't even hers—though Yagura found her single condition fair at all lenses he observed it through. She hadn't tricked him into any one of Konoha's plans and spoke honestly about the things she allowed herself to talk about. She'd divulged the location of Kabuto's body, helped his Kiri shinobi, and now had returned one of the village's biggest secrets when she had every opportunity to keep it for herself.

"I have no qualms with that, Haruno-san," he said. "And I only ask that what we've been doing all this time is to be kept quiet." Yagura extended his hand, and she took it to seal their deal of silence. "Is this all you've come here for?"

Sakura rolled her shoulders. "Well... that side mission you assigned me. The man's name is Nagato."

"How sure are you? Have you met up with him?" he questioned curiously. The slight urgency in his tone edged along his words, but soon melted when she denied his latter claim.

"I haven't met up with him, per se..." she lied. Her pointer finger made circles in the air as she mulled over her next words. "But we've come to a mutual understanding."

"So you've had correspondence?"

"Yes," she said. "He's been mislead to believe some things, but we've cleared it up for him and he shouldn't be a problem in the future. If he is, I'll take full responsibility and handle his situation."

Yagura considered her for a few seconds before he sat down in his chair with a light sigh. "If you hold that much faith in him, I don't see any reason to disagree." He smiled. "Thank you for your service, Haruno Sakura. You've done my village and my people a great deed even if they don't know it."

"It's been my pleasure, Yagura-sama," replied Sakura, bowing courteously as any decent shinobi would. She turned to exit, but threw one last mischievous look over her shoulder. "Don't be afraid to ring me up if you need something else done, because once I kick Danzo's ass out of his seat, I'll have a little more elbow room to work with."

::

The stares of his clan members dropped a pressure on his shoulders, and even as he stood as straight as his spine allowed, his muscles strained and tensed under all the unwanted attention. They were whispering too—wondering why he was here and if he decided to follow in his father's footsteps.

Sasuke looked up at Konoha's Military Police symbol on the building he stood in front of, his application papers crumpling slightly under his rigid grip. There were already rumors about him in the family and about how he was the disobedient black sheep that bared his fangs at his own blood relatives.

He would've rolled his eyes if he wasn't so nervous. The Uchiha had always been unnecessarily distasteful with the judgment in their eyes and the bitterness in their sneers.

He didn't want to become one of them. He wouldn't.

And maybe, in the future, he could climb the ranks of the force and be the leader his clan needed and the one his father never was.

::

"Naru-chan, can you bring those glasses over here?"

"Oh, can you take these to the back?"

"Naru-kun~ Come here, darling. Let me fix that mussed up hair of yours."

"Oi, Naru-chan. Got some bast'rds out front. Wanna rough 'em up with me?"

"Hell yeah, 'ttebayo!"

Jiraiya watched from the inside of  _Magenta's_ building from his spot in the corner of the room. Just recently, he returned from a reconnaissance mission to a half ruined Konoha and the news of Orochimaru killed by the hands of an unknown shinobi. His eyes trailed after Naruto as he trotted out the lounge after his step-dad with a wide grin on his face. 

Then someone slid into the booth seat across from him, slightly nervous and a sheepish hand at the back of his head. "Sorry for the wait, Jiraiya-sama, I—um, you wanted to speak with me? About Naruto?"

"I did," Jiraiya answered, his fingers wrapping around the handle of his beer mug. "You're Naruto's official guardian, so I wanted to ask you some things before I brought it up with him. So I'll get down to it. I want to train the brat, and I'm going to need about two years to do it."

"Train him? _Outside_ the village?" Iruka clarified. At the nod his way, he frowned and scratched his cheek. "I guess he's at that stage, huh? Getting apprenticeships and things like that."

"Listen, if you don't want him to—"

"It shouldn't be up to me," the Academy teacher interrupted. "It's Naruto's future and it wouldn't be fair to him if I didn't let him decide this for himself."

As big a decision as it was and as much as it would pain him for his adopted son to be gone for such a long time, it was a one in a million opportunity. It wasn't every day that an offer was extended to get trained by one of the most prominent figures of the shinobi community, and especially with the path Naruto chose to take...

Iruka fiddled with a napkin. "He wants to be a Konoha ambassador. Er, a liaison between all villages to discuss peace and bring the nations closer to becoming united. I've already seen him borrow books on the laws and customs of different countries."

Naruto bounded back into the building with Mari in tow, some dirt dusting his casual black shirt as he amiably chatted up to his step-dad, the two walking through the bar and back to the break room.

"He'll say yes. I know he will," Iruka sighed. A soft smile touched his lips despite how sad he was growing. "Just... promise to take care of him, okay?"

_Minato stared him straight on and planted both hands on his shoulders. The sage blinked at the severity of his student's stare. "When my son is born and if I'm not around, just... promise to take care of him, okay?"_

Jiraiya grinned. "I promise."

::

There were about seven different types of bugs on the countertop, but they steadily stayed clear of all the baking ingredients strewn around them. Flour patched the granite, used bowls were stacked on top of each other in the corner, and two young shinobi—one chuunin and one genin—were sat near the oven where they could see the light shining on the slowly simmering cupcakes inside.

"Do you think we need to make another batch after this?" Chouji asked, peering through the oven glass with a recipe book open in his lap. Beside him, Shino adjusted his glasses and let some of his bugs crawl over the exposed areas of his skin.

"I see no need to," he answered. "There are six trays in there right now which leaves us with seventy-two cupcakes." He observed the steel frame of the industrial-sized oven, then turned to note the rest of the kitchen. "I've never seen such a large oven before. Or a large food preparation area, in fact."

"My family likes to cook."

"I know. The meals your mother had delivered to the Aburame compound were delicious."

Chouji grinned. "And now our clans are closer! I even heard some of us are working on platoon collaborations. It's the first I've heard of them working outside Ino-Shika-Cho formations."

Something unprecedented began to flourish between the Akimichi and Aburame clans after Orochimaru's siege on Konoha. The Aburame had never been a social group, always keeping to themselves and opting to never lower themselves into others' business. But the ever-social Akimichi had suddenly come along when part of the Aburame housing was destroyed in the attack and offered to help rebuild. The Aburame never sought their help before and never once had been helped by the other clans in the village.

It was strange. First it started with seeing Shino and Chouji around the village on more than one occasion, then Shibi and Chouza set up a meeting between clans, and the next thing they all knew, it was like both families had known each other for years.

Chiharu poked her head through the kitchen arch and smiled at her son and his quiet friend. "Good morning, boys!"

"Good morning, kaa-san."

"Akimichi-san. How was your day so far?"

"Oh, it's been wonderful, dear. Thank you for asking," she replied happily. Chiharu peered into the oven with the critical eye of a seasoned chef. "I just re-counted our guest list for the gathering and we're going to need, well—" she glanced back at the boys "—we need about double the cupcakes."

Chouji took on a somewhat triumphant look on his face knowing they needed those extras while Shino took on something like silent resignation, the thought going through several more batters at the forefront of his mind.

"Alright," Shino said as he glanced cautiously at the counter. "Double the cupcakes."

::

Ino was dead set on becoming a chuunin the next time exams rolled around. Her and her team did the best they could in the first section, but the preliminaries was where their asses really got kicked. Her and Chouji couldn't compete with this year's batch, but next year...

She threw open the door to Shikamaru's room and launched herself onto the lump on his bed. "Get up! It's already _eleven_ , you said you'd be in the forest by _nine_ , and you made me wait a whole _two hours_ before I had to come up here myself and drag you out Shi-ka-ma- _ru_!"

There was a groan and thump as she yanked the covers and sent his body tumbling onto the ground.

"Troublesome woman..." Shikamaru grumbled. "I just got back from a mission."

"Two days ago! Two! Now get your sorry butt up before I decide to haul you down there myself!"

Downstairs, Shikaku sipped at his coffee as his eyes roamed over the morning newspaper, completely ignoring the bumps and shouts raining down from above. Ah, Ino. What an angel she was by keeping his lazy son in line.

He barely batted an eye as the girl in question stormed down the stairs with the scruff of Shikamaru's shirt in her grip. "Good morning, Ino-chan. Shika."

Her devilish expression changed into a bright one when she acknowledged him. "Good morning, Shikaku-ji!" Then it immediately morphed back into irritation as she glowered at her friend. "You're supposed to be helping me train, you sluggish bag of bones! Come on, we're losing daylight!"

"It's morning!" Shikamaru whined. But his pleas were lost as he was ultimately dragged out the door and into the Nara Forest. Shikaku raised his cup in their direction as a laugh bubbled up in his throat.

"Have fun, you two."

::

Gaara sat in the shade of his sand as his siblings sparred on the dunes outside Suna. Temari offered to fight him first, but he politely declined, telling them that he'd rather watch and toy with his rose quartz shell. A lot happened over the past few weeks with the Ichibi, Orochimaru, and the Konoha Crush that decimated the village by killing nearly a third of its shinobi forces. Orochimaru was killed, fortunately, and it was Sasori who told him recently who really was strong enough to end his terror.

It only made him look up to Sakura even more.

He extended his sand to catch a stray kunai one of Kankuro's puppets threw and gently placed it on the ground. Speaking of Sakura, he'd just finished writing a letter to her some hours ago, asking how she was doing and if the cactus he gave her was growing well. He hadn't heard from her since the aftermath of the exams, and he was a little worried. She landed herself in the hospital last they talked.

"Temari. Kankuro," he called softly. "I'm going into the village to get water. What do you two want?"

"Water's fine for me too!"

"Oh, some pineapple juice, baby bro—what the _fuck_ , Temari?! I was talking to Gaara!"

"Don't lower your guard, loser!"

"Bully!"

"Doll boy!"

Gaara slipped the strap of his gourd over his shoulder before silently slipping away from the argument and into the village. He kept to the shadows and away from the people as, even though his presence no longer caused the village to flee on sight, they regarded him warily and grew uncomfortable whenever he drew near.

He approached one of the vending machines on one of the lesser populated streets and slipped in the coins he needed for the drinks, but found that he was a couple ryo short.

"Oh," he mumbled. That wasn't too much of a problem, considering he could just transport himself back home and back to the machine with the only consequence being that his siblings had to wait a little longer. But it was also hot outside and he didn't want them to go on longer without drinks.

A open palm appeared in his vision holding the exact amount of change he needed.

"Is this what you need?" a kind voice questioned. Gaara raised his head to meet Yashamaru's soft lavender eyes. Shakily, he plucked the coins from his uncle's hand and averted his gaze back to the vending machine.

"Thank you," he murmured. Yashamaru reached out to pat the boy's head, paused half way, then retracted his arm as his stare dropped to the side.

"You're welcome, Gaara-sama."

::

Hanabi kept to herself, her milky white eyes peering over her book at the two on the other side of the physical therapy ward. Neji was steadily getting better, or as better as others said he was because he simply couldn't admit to others that he needed to stay at the hospital for another few weeks. She watched as Neji half-heartedly swatted at the hand that helped steady his torso as he practiced walking on a stretch of wood flooring enclosed by two sets of rails.

"I don't need any help! I can walk fine!" he protested. Hinata shook her head and firmly planted her hands back on his arms.

"You-You don't need to do gait tr-training all by yourself! I'll help! What if, if you fall?!"

"I won't fall, Hinata-sama!"

"You don't, don't know that!"

"Yes I _do_!"

They'd been squabbling for a good fifteen minutes already, and Hanabi would've torn her hair out by now if she wasn't so stunned that her older sister and cousin were getting along in a way they never had before. Because before, he only spoke to her when necessary and regarded her with nothing more than loathing and disdain. But ever since his defeat at her hands in the chuunin exam preliminaries, his actions had taken an unexpected turn towards friendship, if not an exasperated family relationship.

Hanabi's eyes narrowed even further. And it wasn't just the preliminaries. When Neji was delivered to the hospital at death's doorstep with nothing more than a thread of life to hang on to, Hinata stayed glued to his side until he woke up and was deemed stable in his recovery.

She frowned at her cousin's utterly loud demands that he could walk fine enough on his own. So fine, in fact, that he could leave the hospital if he really wanted to (though not really. He still had weeks if not months of rehabilitation ahead of him). Hanabi shut her book with a quick snap and set it down in the chair next to her before stalking over to the both of them.

Then kicking Neji in the shin with a firm look on her seven year old face. "You! Be nicer to Nee-sama!" She turned to Hinata, ignoring her flustered surprise at the assault. "Why don't we ask Sakura-sensei to deal with this _difficult_ patient?"

Two things happened at once. The surprise kick aside, Hinata began to go on about how wonderful of an idea it was! Sakura was good with people and she was strong, so there was no reason for Neji not to listen to her. On the other hand, Neji gripped the rails to steady himself as he hissed out an incredulous, " _Sensei_? Since when was Haruno a _sensei_?"

Hanabi jabbed her finger at him. "Since I asked her to teach me! Now are we going to get her or not?!"

"Yes!" Hinata exclaimed. Neji cut her off.

" _Absolutely not_!"

Hanabi exhaled harshly. This was going to be a long day.

::

Sai jerked to a stop on the road before his body gravitated towards a bright red tree on the other side of the path, his companions floundering to catch themselves before following. "Look at this tree! And its color! We almost passed it and it has such beautiful shape and texture and how have I never seen this tree before?! I've lived here all my life and suddenly—amazing!"

Kiba planted his hands on his hips as Sai suddenly pulled out a sketchbook and plopped right down on the ground. With an obliging sigh, he and Akamaru took a seat as well. "Dude, seriously, how have you never seen this tree before? It's always been here."

Akamaru barked.

"Yeah, see? You're the only one goin' crazy here."

"No, no, no, look! It's got red leaves and—Konoha trees with red leaves? How rare! And the shape is so different and it's so nice to look at and..." He went on and on, Kiba placing his head in his palm as he listened to his friend talk a mile a minute about a _tree_. The guy was so weird and the fact that he was a civilian made it even weirder, but he couldn't seem to move his attention anywhere else. Sai was odd, but it was the type of odd that was kind of... endearing.

He snapped out of his musings when he realized the kid in question had his face only a few millimeters away from his own while holding one of the red leaves next to his profile.

"Wow! They're as dark as the triangles on your cheeks and—what are you staring at?"

Kiba blinked slowly, almost dazed. "Your eyes look like my sister's pretty black jewelry."

"Oh, thanks! So about how I'm going to draw this tree, right..."

::

"Remember, Lee," Gai reminded. "Youth is all encompassing, so it extends to your friends, your family, your rival, your village! Don't let it go, not even for a second, and spread it to everyone so they can relish in its wondrous feeling!"

It seemed that Lee was the only student in attendance for the day. Neji was still recuperating and Tenten had stopped by earlier, saying she had an important errand to run. For reasons unknown to him she looked nervous with damp palms and shaky breaths, so he could only wish the best for whatever she decided to do.

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

"Yosh, my youthful student! And what are your goals for the future in your success of training?!"

"I will fight Sabaku no Gaara again!"

"Fantastic! And?!"

"I will then challenge Neji-san once he's recovered and ready for field work!"

"A spectacular goal! Have you more?"

"Of course!" Lee exclaimed. "Once I've done those tasks and proven my strength, I will ask Sakura to join me in a battle of eternal youth! She's truly one of the strongest shinobi I've met and it would be an honor to spar her one on one!"

Gai stalled for a moment, thankful his student was too caught up in a youthful vigor to notice his reluctance. There was nothing wrong with Haruno Sakura—she and the rest of Kakashi's team were good friends to his own and he had immense gratitude for her by being able to save Neji.

But there was ROOT. A sannin's demise. The steel in her eyes.

_The death in her hands._

He forced a smile onto his face and struck a pose. "That's right, Lee! We'll train until the sun sets on our glorious days!"

He would never forget what he saw that day. And with Sakura being the center of it all, he didn't know how to feel about it either.

::

Tenten drew in a deep breath as she stood outside an office door in the hospital. She flexed her hand, tapped her foot, and stared up at the golden name plate hung above her head. She could do this. The worst thing that could happen was getting told "no", right? Then she wouldn't take it too hard because what were the chances of this actually happening? She really wanted this, though, and it would hurt if she got rejected. 

But there was no time like the present, like Gai-sensei always said.

So she puffed up her chest, straightened her spine, and knocked. A voice filtered out the door, strong and decisive. 

"Come in."

Her confidence started to waver, but Tenten tried to keep her cool as she took a spot in front of Tsunade's desk with her hands balled into fists at her side. The Konoha Hospital Director wrote some more on her current report before dropping her pen down on her desk and looking up. Calculating hazel eyes scanned her person, a blonde eyebrow quirking when she realized her visitor was not a nurse, not a doctor, and certainly not injured.

"What do you want?"

Tenten's resolve hardened. "Please make me your apprentice, Tsunade-sama!"

::

The exchange between him and Kisame... bothered him, to some small degree. It didn't feel right fighting him and certainly didn't feel right _killing_ him. Ever the pacifist, he always looked for a way out, but Hoshigaki was a strong opponent and the only way to end things was with his life.

In the end, he got the scroll.

But victory never felt so empty because he felt that maybe if time had been different... he would've known him.

He kept his true feelings contained as he walked up the steps of the Hokage Tower and reported to Dan in his office and delivered his oral report without sparing a single detail. As Itachi went on, he noticed his Hokage delve into a look of steady contemplation, and at the end of his statements, he was met with questions completely out of the realm of what he was expecting.

"So you didn't think it was right for you to end his life, right?" Dan questioned. Itachi shifted.

"No, Hokage-sama. I had no reason to kill him, and I shouldn't be in charge of deciding someone's life when it isn't a life or death situation," he answered. The Godaime steepled his fingers and set them on his desk. His kind smile conveyed his message of _'speak freely, there's no one other than me who'll hear you'_.

"Even if he attacked you?"

"We're shinobi, and though it's our duty to kill or be killed, a human's moral duty is to bring peace."

The older man gained a thoughtful expression. "You want to change the shinobi system to have more empathy."

Itachi shifted again as an odd feeling curled up his back. Where were all these questions coming from? Did he do something wrong? His Hokage's lack of stern reprimand had him thinking otherwise and that was starting to worry him.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Because we're still people."

Dan's smile widened as he stood to offer a proposition that made Itachi's eyes widen at the mere concept.

"Itachi-san, have you ever thought of getting into village politics as an individual and not as a representative of the Uchiha clan?"

::

Knitting wasn't new to them.

But knitting on the _roof_... well, that was a different story.

It was a cool Konoha night with no traces of the warmth or humidity of just a few hours prior. They tugged a blanket and a couple of pillows with them along with their knitting needles, their yarn, and some junk food to munch on the rest of the night. 

Kakashi glared at sight of the armful of things from his pantry splayed across the rooftop. Sakura grinned and stared him straight in his eyes as she opened one of the bags and stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth.

"You're disgusting."

"And you're horrible to look at, so that makes two of us, doesn't it?" she said. She picked up her orange knitting needles and a half-made bow from one of the bags. "... But... I owe you an explanation. I told you before I left that I'd answer any of your questions, but first, I'll tell you what I can." She let out a hollow smile as his eyes widened a fraction. "And I'll start by telling you about T&I."

Sakura told him about T&I. About Genma who found her and Ibiki who took her under his wing. Then she told him about her parents' deaths—how she couldn't save them and how Ibiki brought her in. After, she told him about her trauma, Danzo's interest, and her goal to take ROOT out of his hands so she could build it up into something Konoha hadn't seen before.

She told him about the change she wanted to bring because she didn't want to see anyone's worlds fall apart.

And by the end of her account, she sighed. "I... didn't want to involve anyone else because I don't want anyone else to go what I went through, so I kept it from them. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them." She took in a deep breath. "Well? You still have questions for me after, you know... all that?"

He was quiet a few more moments. The moon shone overhead in the starless sky, the only other light besides the lantern glowing in between them. The streets below were barren and silent with the streetlights steadily shutting off one by one the longer the night crawled into early morning.

"You're an idiot."

"... Huh?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "For thinking that you'd always be by yourself. All the friends you've made and all the people you've helped... They're a part of your life now. A part of you." He stuck one of his silver knitting needles into a ball of yarn. "You're like a terrible disease. I thought you were smart enough to know that you didn't need to be alone anymore. "

Sakura stared at him for a while, hundreds of emotions brimming under her skin and grinning when she leaned over to punch him in the shoulder. "Shut up, asshole."

Her eyes lifted up back to the sky.

"Maybe I'm finally learning to."

::

**The next chapter will be _Stumble [Epilogue]_ , and I expect to have it finished sometime between July and September. If there's anything you would like to submit to me before then, please try to send it to me by July 15!**

**Thank you all for coming this far! <3**

::

Here's wonderful fanart submitted by [Kumikocr](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikocr/pseuds/Kumikocr) !


	72. Stumble [Epilogue]

** _Two Years Later_ **

Sakura opened her eyes to a sky of clouds and blue.

Konoha was bustling, as per usual. A bright afternoon on a Saturday brought people out to peruse the market stalls, meet with friends, go out with family, or to simply enjoy the peaceful time the day had brought. The sun was especially warm that particular day as the buzz of cicadas encircled the air like a neatly wrapped bow.

"Are you wearing sunscreen? Because you're actually so pale I think you'd get a sunburn just by standing next to an oven."

Sasuke snorted into his excessively bitter iced coffee. "If you're referring to the sunscreen I found in my room with the note 'you won't be laughing when you're peeling', then yes. I'm wearing that sunscreen."

Fourteen year old Sakura laughed before popping a dumpling in her mouth. She loved days like this where she could hang out with one of her best friends as they watched people pass them by. The restaurant they often frequented stayed one of their favorites with the assortments of fried goods and barbecue, and even if they went to Ichiraku's now and again, it wasn't the same without Naruto there with them. Though it was always nice to see Teuchi and say hello.

"While it's always fun to hear about you taking good care of your skin, there's some other stuff I've been interested in too," she said. She sipped her lemonade. "How's being a Police Sergeant? I heard from Obito-san that you're a  _little_ stressed out with the platoon under your command."

"I hate all of them."

"That's not very nice."

"Uchiha are already insufferable enough as it is and it's only worse now because they don't think they should be listening to a fourteen year old, Commissioner's son be damned," he grumbled. Sakura grinned and started to roll up the sleeves of her gray regulation jacket. She didn't really work under T&I anymore, but she'd grown attached to the uniform and wouldn't stop wearing it no matter how many times Genma whined at her.

"It's hard to climb the ranks when you're a brat, but it'll get better," she winked. "You have a temper almost as explosive as mine so they're bound to listen to you one way or another. Lucky you have the next few days off, huh?"

He sighed. "I guess. Sai and I are going to the art show tomorrow, so my mood should get better. I finally got one of my works in."

"The one with the ruins?"

"Mm."

"Congratulations! I know you spent a lot of time on that one!" Sakura exclaimed. If she'd known art would become such a deterrent against his bottled up emotions, she would've brought it up to the Sasuke of the other timeline and hope for the best. Even if he was prone to anger much like she was, he had a healthy outlet this time and it had done him a world of good. "I almost forgot! I got called up to the Aviary earlier and we got a letter from Naruto."

Sasuke leaned against the table in interest. "What did he say?"

She pulled the letter out from the inner lining of her jacket and held it out for him to read.

\--

_ Sasuke and Sakura-chan, _

_How're you guys? It's been, wow, almost two years now. I know ero-sennin said he'd only be training me out here for that long, but some things came up and... I think I'm going to be out another year? He already sent a letter to my dads explaining what's going on. They're okay with it, but they said they miss me and want me to come home soon._

_ But don't worry, I'll be back before you know it! _

_ Ero-sennin's been teaching me a lot of new jutsu I can't wait to show you guys! I learned the rasengan. That's like a spinning ball of chakra in the palm of my hand, but I need a clone to help me do it. It's super cool and I can kick your ass with it, Sasuke. _

\--

Sasuke huffed.

\--

_I also tried to do the Flying Raijin technique without throwing up and passing out._

_ Still doesn't work. But I'll master it before I get back to Konoha, dattebayo!  _

_ I have a toad summon now too. His name's Gamakichi! He's as orange as my pants and he's really funny. He's a smartass, though. I think you'd like him, Sakura-chan. _

\--

"Yeah, he's getting a bit cheeky," Sakura said as Sasuke's lips quirked upwards. "I think my effect has done some good."

"Right. 'Good'."

"Shut up and keep reading."

\--

_ And I know I'm not supposed to be telling you guys this in a letter, but... you know about my "problem"? Ero-sennin says it isn't a good idea, but I think I'm going to try and talk to him. It sounds bad, I get it, but I came all this way to train to become an ambassador. For peace. How am I supposed to help build peace when all he does is hate? _

_ I'll change him, then I'll help change the world. _

_ Oh yeah, and Ero-sennin's been making me his editor for his pervy books. I told him they're gross and even  _ I  _could make better books than his, but he didn't believe me._

_I'm gonna do it!_

_ Love you guys and see you soon. _

_Love,_

_ Naruto _

\--

Sasuke set a letter on the table and raised a brow. "A book. The dobe is going to write a book."

"Who knows? We'll see when he actually publishes, won't we?"

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and dug his chopsticks back into his food. They went on like this for a little longer, talking about their day, their training, and anything else they wanted to catch up on. For Sakura, the experience was almost surreal. The old timeline's Sasuke would've never sat down and talk to her like this. He would've never given her the time of day and would've never shared his laughs and smiles.

This Sasuke was so different. It hurt—but he was so much more happy that it was worth every ounce of pain.

At the end of their lunch, they split the bill and walked out into the sunshine.

"Anything you need to do today?" asked Sasuke.

"Hokage-sama said he needed me to pick up something from his office," Sakura replied, stretching her bandaged arms over her head. "Probably some boring documents to fill out and turn into him tomorrow. After that I'm going to meet with Hinata and—"

" _Oh_? You're meeting up with Hinata?" he interrupted. His lips toyed up into a smug smile as she stuck out her tongue and reached over to flick his ear.

"I'll see you later, loser."

She waved as they parted ways and stuck her hands in her pockets as she began making her way down the busy street. Breathing in the fresh air, she tipped her head backwards. Everything was so much calmer compared to how it was a couple of years ago. True, this world had its ups and downs, but this was a world that wouldn't suffer a Fourth Shinobi World War.

She could feel it in her bones.

When Sakura slipped her hands out of her pockets to check for the Hokage summons scroll in her back pouch, she spotted Tenten up the path carrying a large armful of medicinal vials. "Hey, Ten! Need any help?"

Tenten jogged over, the vials making small clinking noises. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Thanks for the offer, but I've got a lot of errands to run today and this is just the beginning of the list." She sighed, but there was a cheerful smile on her face. "You don't happen to know a jutsu that lets you know every address in Konoha, do you?"

Sakura scratched the back of her head with a wince. "No, sorry."

"Darn. Well, with all these things I need done... you have time to catch up tomorrow? Training then breakfast?"

"Sure. Training Ground Eleven at eight?"

Tenten nodded. "See you there, Sakura-chan!" She took a step down her path before pausing and looking over her shoulder. “And you'll finally tell me about the potato incident or whatever that was, right?”

Sakura grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. “I was hoping you forgot about that. Fine, fine, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Don't overwork yourself, Ten!”

It wasn't odd for her not to be Tsunade's apprentice this time around. She already learned everything she had to learn and had been through the motions of all those teachings—she mastered the Yin Seal, the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu. There was no point in becoming an apprentice the second time around and rid another person's chance of learning something  _more_.

Her hand unconsciously curled over the bandaged seal on her right bicep.

For instance, she was already a sensei on two occasions. First was the poison classes she held every other Friday for her friends, and second was training Hanabi as an apprentice of her own.

Once she arrived at the Tower, she climbed the winding stairs up to the Hokage's Office, her  _Time_ dog-tag necklace bumping against her wine red ANBU undershirt every now and again. Five years ago, she stopped wearing the necklace and kept it in a box hidden under a board beneath her bed. Every day she was reminded of her circumstance, but the light weight of the silver against her neck made it take much heavier, so she put it away and tried to forget.

A year ago, she started wearing it again because there was no use in trying to forget. She would take her past and mold it into the foundation she needed to step up to the heights she could never reach before. Now, she was able to brush the stars with her fingers when before she could only comb through the grass on the ground.

Sakura approached the office door and knocked twice.

"Come in."

Her brows furrowed at the voice as she stepped in. "Hokage-sama's not in? That's weird."

She had to admit the sight of Itachi sitting in the Hokage's seat with a stack of papers beside him made her content with the way things played out. He wasn't a Kage yet, and was actually quite a bit a ways from being one, but he was taking the right steps to the position that would make for a brighter future—and the first one was for him to get used to  the mountains of paperwork that came with the highest honor.

"He believes it will help my political awareness," he said. He exhaled softly through his nose and picked up another sheet from the pile. "Though I think it's because he can use it as an excuse now."

She chuckled. "He probably has good intentions for you. Did he leave anything for me to pick up?"

Itachi handed her a large brown envelope with the Hokage's seal of approval across the front. She tucked it under her arm.

"So where has Hokage-sama been?"

"Why do you think Tsunade-sama is making Tenten-san run so many errands today?" he deadpanned. Ah, so Dan and Tsunade were out on another date and left their work to their respective students.

Sakura offered him a sympathetic smile before waving to him and turning around to leave the office. "Good luck on your work, and I hope Hokage-sama gives you a raise!"

He returned her smile with an amused one of his own. "Doubtful, but I appreciate the sentiment, Sakura-san. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"You too!"

After the door shut behind her, his smile dropped some as he was overtaken by a sense of curiosity. Since confronting her on that mission, he still hadn't been able to figure her or her angle out. She'd proven herself trustworthy, yes, but there was still something about her. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

But he would worry about that later. For now, he would work on the tons of paperwork the Godaime  _cheerfully_ bestowed upon him.

::

Neji narrowed his eyes. "I haven't the faintest idea what Hinata-sama sees in you. I recommended her to the highest ranked optometrist in the village and yet she declines. Your influence it truly a terrible thing."

"Sorry you can't accept my charm, oh dull one," Sakura grinned, placing a hand on her hip. "Maybe you're the one here that needs glasses after being blinded by Gai and Lee's  _youthful radiance_  every day."

He involuntarily shivered. "You being unaffected by their machinations only further proves your inability to be normal. Heaven knows why you're even allowed to step on this Estate."

"Because Hyuuga-sama likes me?"

"A tragedy, honestly."

Neji was another person she needed to work on. Not on his personality, though—no matter how many times he voiced how much he didn't like her, they both knew they had a decent friendship after he sacrificed his life to save hers and she went on to bring him back from the dead. It was one of those things where you really  _couldn't_ hate a person after those series of events.

But, he still had a long road ahead of him in terms of capabilities. He was fifteen now, and if everything went according to plan, she would recommend him for the position of ANBU Director by the time he turned twenty-five. It would balance out Itachi taking role as Rokudaime Hokage, leaving Sasuke to head the Uchiha Clan and Hinata to lead the Hyuuga Clan and ultimately abolish what the branch members had to suffer through.

That itself was wishful thinking, but she had faith in her friends.

"A tragedy for you, maybe, but I think it's more like a comedy."

"And why is that?"

"Because your insults say you're funny but your face says you like to kick puppies," she said. Some seconds passed as he digested her words before his face screwed up and he pointed at her with an accusing finger.

"I don't  _kick pup_ —"

He suddenly surged forward from a well-aimed kick to the center of his back. Sakura stepped aside to avoid collision and watched Neji bumble onto the porch next to her. In the doorway stood Hanabi, indignant.

"Stop arguing with my future sister-in-law!"

Neji was horrified. "Sister-in-law?! As if destiny would let that horrible event smear this world!"

They started fighting. Again. Sakura leaned against the wooden doorway as the two exchanged barbs—some Hanabi shouldn't know, but she supposed Neji had a point of her influence being a "truly terrible thing". She glanced inside the Estate to see Hiashi down the hall, exasperatedly observing his nephew and his youngest. She met his eye and smiled in greeting, him merely nodding in return before he took his leave.

The next thing she knew, Hinata quickly descended the stairs, pulled on her sandals at lightning speed, and bolted past her arguing family members while grabbing her hand and running off.

"See-See you later!"

Hanabi waved enthusiastically as she held onto Neji's arm to keep him in place. "Bye, nee-sama! Bye, Sakura-sensei!"

"Hinata-sama, wait!"

Sakura's laughter rang clear in the air as she let herself be pulled along.

::

Ibiki locked the front door as he and Sakura stepped outside.

"Who the hell decides to hold a meeting in the middle of the night?" Ibiki grumbled. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "Konoha Assembly my ass. Pick a time people are actually awake."

"We  _are_  awake," she quipped. He glared at her half-heartedly and knocked her over the top of her head.

"I meant for normal people. With normal sleep schedules."

Sakura chuckled. "Got me there, old man."

The Konoha Assembly was much like Clans of Konoha, but met less frequently at an undisclosed location. Once a year, all department heads, clan heads, the council, and the Hokage came together to discuss Konoha's infrastructure. There were twelve attendees at the Clans of Konoha meetings, but over forty attended the Assembly.

"But I get your point," she sighed. "It's one in the morning and this probably won't end until six or seven and... ugh I still have to get those two other permits I requested."

Ibiki's face darkened considerably as he brought his fingers up to press against his forehead. "... Two permits?"

"One for lab usage and the other to make me an official teacher," she grinned. "What? Did you think I was going to wait until you got on my case to get those? Ha! Once I frame them up next to the poison's permit, it'll spice up the kitchen even more!"

"Your poison cabinets weren't enough?"

"But they're a nice touch."

"Of course. Stainless steel makes the cabinets just  _shine_ ," he drawled. Sakura stifled a laugh as they entered a building next to the Hokage Tower and hidden by a powerful genjutsu. Inside, rings of seats were organized like a circular lecture hall with the Hokage and the council's seats set in the forefront. Her and Ibiki parted to sit in their assigned seats.

Sakura took her's in the top row where three masked shinobi stood behind the chair: Cat, Boar, and Monkey.

Or alternatively: Kinoe, Shin, and Torune.

She smiled at them before sitting down and inspecting her own nameplate.

**Haruno Sakura**

**_ROOT Director_ **

There were thirty minutes left until the Assembly began, so she took this opportunity to sift through the notes on her desk. Nearly everything was in code, as she couldn't risk exposing the organization's secrets in a semi-public place. To her right would sit the Head of Education and to her left would be the current ANBU Director, so she had every reason to be cautious.

She plucked the last paper of the pile and scanned it over, realizing it was one of her personal correspondents that wrote in a code they both developed for the instance of their missives.

\--

_Heading out with the Corps. next week to Frost Country. Need anything?_

**~Sculptor**

\--

Deidara recently became the commander of the Explosion Corps.. Paired with his affinity for bomb making and swordsmanship skills, he was a force to be reckoned with and occasionally got her poisons since she couldn't go out as much anymore. Gaara did something of a similar nature as well when he sometimes sent over plants with their correspondence, but it was more of a ‘because he wanted to’ rather than a ‘because she asked’. She thanked him every time. He told her not to worry and wrote her stories about how he was getting better at making friends.

She made a note of the list of plants she needed before tucking it away and watching as the time neared the start of the Assembly and the bulk of the attendees flooded in. A few minutes later the meeting convened and after roll call, Dan stood to make an announcement.

"I would like to introduce two more members to the Assembly," he informed. "They will take the positions of clan heads, and they will lend their ears and insight to future discussions like this one. First, to fill the Senju seat, will be Senju Tsunade."

Tsunade came through a door and took a stand next to the Godaime. Her face was stone-cold and calculating as she surveyed the rest of the room.

"And next, a person to fill the Uzumaki seat," he continued. Murmurs swept through the attendees while Sakura's brows furrowed as she leaned forward suspiciously. Naruto was the only Uzumaki she knew and he told her he wouldn't be back for another year. Even if he were to come back earlier, she doubted he had enough experience to fill in the position.

But another person did walk out and stand next to Tsunade. He was tall and slim with his shoulder-length hair drooping over half his face. His visible eye raised to look at Sakura as she covered her mouth to hold in her surprise.

Dan smiled. "Everyone, please welcome Uzumaki Nagato as well."

::

"You didn't have to walk me the entire way."

"Ah, it was nice talking to you, though! I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

Sakura felt the gesture warm her as she was dropped off at the training grounds. "Thanks for being good company, Obito-san. See you at Inoichi-san's session next month?"

"Maybe sooner," he grinned. "See you later, Sakura! Tell Kakashi I said hi!"

Sakura walked up the path to Team Seven's training ground and hoisted herself up onto the railing of the short red bridge. Kakashi had already been waiting for her there and was reading one of his many philosophy books, but shut it and stored it in his back pouch at her arrival.

"Sakura. I trust the Assembly went well?" he questioned. She shrugged her shoulders and blew out a dramatic sigh.

"Meetings are always going to be boring."

He raised an eyebrow expectantly. "But?"

" _But_ the rumors about the Uzumaki representative are true," she said. "Uzumaki Nagato. Rinnegan-wielder, former Amegakure shinobi."

"... There was no mention of him being a former Amegakure shinobi."

"There's also no mention of him being Jiraiya-sama's former student, so I guess you're learning more new things today, eh, Kakashi? But you didn't hear it from me."

He nearly rolled his eyes. Why wouldn't she already know who this Nagato character was? He would've been more surprised if that stranger's arrival had caught her completely off guard. Kakashi crossed his arms and rested his back against the railing. "Anything else you want to tell me? You have that look on your face and I don't think I'll appreciate what comes after it."

"Well..." she trailed off. "Remember when I mentioned that empty Hatake seat in Clans of Konoha and the Konoha Assembly? I think it'd be a good idea if—"

"No."

"Fine, I'll back off for now, but just think about it," said Sakura. "Anyways, this year's genin assignments are about to roll out soon. Did you sign up to be a sensei this year?"

His face was completely, utterly blank and she snorted a laugh. "Okay, okay. Geez, you plan on being boring the rest of your life?"

"Is it bothering you?"

"Yes!"

"Then yes."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Asshole."

Kakashi's arm shot out and pushed her into the lake. He glanced over his shoulder, unimpressed, but a small quirk to his lips was visible from beneath his mask. "Tyrant."

He blinked away the stream of water pelted at his face.

::

Danzo's eyes roamed over the space that once used to be his office. He could no longer say it matched the chilling interior of the rest of HQ as it appeared... homely. Lived in. The walls were painted a light green and one whole side of the room had been taken over rows upon rows of books and scrolls. The desk was cluttered, a mongoose mask hung on the wall behind it, and to its right across from the bookshelves was a simple gray couch.

He settled onto it and cast a cursory stare at the child seated in a wheeled office chair. "Why green?"

"Red is its complementary color," she smiled. "If any blood gets spilled in this room, it'll be easy to spot and clean up."

He resisted the urge to snort as he placed his hands atop his cane. This is what he got for choosing her to be his successor so he had no other choice but to put up with her.

"Decor aside, councilman, do you have any information for me? Being my number one informant inside the village, I know you don't like making trips down here when you don't need to," she said. Danzo straightened.

"Ever since Orochimaru's death, the remainders of Oto have taken things into their own hands by raiding nearby villages," he explained. "They've been trying to find his right hand, Yakushi Kabuto, who was last seen in our village's chuunin exams, and seek his counsel. Do you know his whereabouts?"

Sakura smiled. "No comment."

"... I see. Konoha would normally deal with this problem, but the Oto shinobi are no longer in Fire Country, therefore no longer our jurisdiction. How will you plan to move forward knowing you cannot deploy any of your forces?" he questioned. She tapped her pen on her desk a few times before she opened the top drawer and pulled out a stack of blank paper.

"I know some people who owe me some favors, so don't worry about it. I'll have the Oto problem cleared up by the end of next week."

She laid out two sheets: one to be addressed to Deidara and the other to be addressed to Terumi Mei.

Danzo observed her write in an interesting string of code for some time before again looking over the room. The difference between her office and his were about as stark as their personalities—here she was, young and unafraid of what was to come and willing to stand up for what was right even if she was going to be the only one standing. He, on the other hand, only worked from the shadows to go unnoticed in his work the rest of his life.

He might not have made many good investments as the first ROOT Director, but looking at Sakura as she scrawled at her desk, he saw a much brighter future than one he could have helped lead.

::

It was hard to live the way they did, and maybe people would never fully understand what that meant. There were always those who said they wanted to go back in time and change the way things turned out, but at what cost? They saved the world. They saved most of their friends.

But they were the only ones who would ever remember what the world used to be.

Sasori brushed his fingers across the dirt and dewed grass of a grave he once dug with his own hands. The skies were painted the peach and rose of an early morning, and the ocean waters below crashed against the cliffside with a soothing rush.

"It's almost as if we've been dreaming these last nine years."

He cast his companion an agreeable look. "Doesn't it? If you told the me in the old timeline that I would've made friends with my killer, lost half my marbles, and give up on eternity, that me would've called you crazy and tried to kill you because making you into a puppet is too good of a fate."

"Weirdly specific, but you're not wrong," Sakura admitted. "Nine years ago, I wanted to die. I'm kind of surprised I made it this far."

"Do you still want to?" he asked. She sat down beside him.

"Still want to what?"

"Die."

The air held the light tang of salt, pressing against their lips with every word they spoke and filtering through the light breeze like a wake up call from a groggy nap.

Sakura tucked her legs into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "I wanted to for a very long time, but..."

Her headband glinted in the low light.

"... I don't know. If we're talking about  _right now_ , then no."

Last they heard from Hidan, he and Juugo were trekking along the mountains in Iron Country to visit the shrines on the highest peaks. Hidan complained about the snow and cold and storms, but he didn't complain about the peace. He never did. And it made them wonder if that's all he ever wanted.

Sakura also told them both about Nagato some days ago and about how she first saw him at the Konoha Assembly. They never spoke during or after the revelation of his decision, but they shared a mutual understanding. Nagato was using his second chance to the fullest and he found it by trying to implement change through the system.

Sasori almost didn't believe her. Hidan wrote a paragraph of almost only obscenities.

"What about you? What do you want to do next?" Sakura questioned. Sasori let himself fall back onto the grass with his arms over his head, his half-lidded eyes trailing after the clouds that inched across the sky.

"I think I'm going to talk to Chiyo-baa-sama again," he said. I haven't seen her since we first got back. Maybe it's time I need to."

When she turned to face him better, he saw her dog-tag sway with the movement. "Nice necklace," he noted. Sakura spotted a silver chain gleaming around his own neck and grinned.

"Thanks," she replied. "But tell me about yours. Where did you get it?"

Their old world was far from perfect, but the same could be said about the one they were in now. People still fought and people still died—some people still went down the wrong path and some still needed help getting onto the right one.

Haruno Sakura and Akasuna no Sasori were by no means perfect people. They made mistakes, they made the wrong decisions, they had trouble finding it in themselves to believe.

But that was okay. 

Because for them, this was their second chance, and they had all the time in the world to learn what it meant to get  _better_. 

:: :: :: ::

Her name was Sachiko and she was sixteen years old.

She stood at the Nurse's Station at Konoha Hospital, looking over a clipboard with a new nurse standing nervously in front of her. 

"Your patient here needs to be administered medication once every two hours," she explained softly. The nurse quickly nodded his head. "As a beginning, you'll have one patient this week to ease you into your role. Next week you'll have two, and the week after that you'll have three. At twelve tonight you'll be relieved of your shift then you'll come report to me in my office, alright?"

He bobbed his head again and took the clipboard offered to him. "Yes, Haruno-sensei! I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't," Sachiko smiled. The nurse's face went red. "I wish you well on your shift."

He stammered out a 'thank you' before going off to fulfill his duties. The young doctor slid her pen into the pocket of her pink scrubs before heading over to the front desk to let them know she was taking her lunch break.

Living in a growing village for the past two years had been quite the experience for her. Being raised in such a small town the majority of her life, it took her a while to get used to all the people and enormous buildings. Before she got her own apartment and lived with Kakashi, Pakkun or the other dogs would always be there to show her around or explain how things worked in that particular part of the country. Now, she lived in the same apartment complex as Tenten and had lunch at her shop every Tuesday and Thursday.

And it wasn't like she was much of an obscure resident either. There were people—some of the older generations—that eventually came to figure out who she really was. Her last name might have been a coincidence, but they told her that her eyes were a mirror of her mother's.

Sachiko walked a few buildings down to the VA and pushed open the glass doors. "Good afternoon. Haruno Sachiko, checking in."

"Good afternoon, Haruno-sensei!" the receptionist chirped. "Here to visit the patients again?"

"Yes, if that's alright?"

"Of course! No one visits as much as you do, and it really brightens up everyone's day around here."

The Veteran's Association was comprised almost entirely of shinobi from the Fourth Shinobi World War. These were the shinobi who could no longer take care of themselves because of trauma, a decline in mental health, or physical disabilities that rendered them unable to live alone. Once Sachiko found out about the place and discovered the high suicide rate, she made it her goal to visit at least once a week and try to bring love and joy back into their lives. On one of her weekly calls to her grandmother, she told the woman of her plans and was told it was something she should keep pursuing. And she did.

At fifteen, she sought one clinical partnership with the Inuzuka Clan to bring in rescue dogs to help pair them with a veteran and another with many different orphanages to bring in children to read to the patients. The requests were odd, especially coming from a civilian, but they worked.

At sixteen, she was currently going through the motions of a residency under Kato Shizune.

At eighteen, she hoped to complete her residency and run a mental health clinic of her own to assist veterans much like the ones in the VA.

Her mother died because she found no reason to live.

If Sachiko tried hard enough, maybe she could give all these people one.

::

Naruto hummed to himself as he walked through the pristine white halls of the hospital. Every now and again he would drop by and see how Sachiko was doing. She'd settled into the village quite nicely, making the most of her situation and becoming one of the most respected faculty at her workplace. She was a kind, talented girl and she deserved that much.

But he wasn't going to lie—he felt an obligation to make sure she was okay. He already failed Sakura once and making sure her daughter was fine was the least he could do for her.

As for Sasuke...

He rubbed the back of his neck and poked it through Sachiko's office door. "Sensei!"

She looked up from her computer screen. "Ah, good afternoon, Naruto-sama. Are you here to check up on staff?"

"Yup," he grinned. "How've you been today? No difficult patients? No problems?"

She shook her head and blinked when his grin grew wider. The Nanadaime was always such a cheerful person when he interacted with his villagers, which was probably why his popularity was so high. It wasn't that she didn't believe him since his joy was so infectious, but it made her wonder how someone as bright as him could be wrought from the unforgiving childhood her mother briefly mentioned in her letters.

A figure made itself visible from her vantage at her office window and she leaned to look closer, some stray hairs loosening from the bun on her head. "Naruto-sama, Nara-san is walking into the building and he looks annoyed."

Naruto grew pale and she blinked again. "You're not checking up on staff, are you?"

"I was never here!" he blurted. He crossed his arms over himself to mimic an 'x'. "I was never here and Shikamaru can't prove it! Bye, sensei!"

With one last grin, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sachiko sighed and shook her head with a fond smile.  _Shinobi_.

Moments later, Shikamaru poked his head into her office. "Did the Nanadaime happen to drop by?"

"He ran away when I said I saw you."

The Hokage's Advisor mumbled some curses under his breath as he thanked her and stalked off to find his runaway boss. Sachiko always thought Konoha shinobi were so eccentric—they were truly powerful, but they still acted like they weren't a product of blood and steel.

She shook her head. Those musings she could save for later. For now, she still had work to do.

But then, at the corner of her eye, she saw something black flutter past her window. Or, at least she thought she saw something. Curious, she got up from her seat, pushed the window up, and looked around. Nothing was there.

_'Must've been a bird.'_

She closed the window and continued her work.

Outside, Uchiha Sasuke stood on the roof of Konoha Hospital with his black cloak fluttering around his ankles and his hair tied in a loose ponytail at his nape. His katana lay at his hip in need of sharpening after his return from a recent mission, and he was to report to the Hokage immediately after his arrival. But seeing as he wasn't there, he went on to what he normally did when he returned to Konoha: check if his family was alright.

Then, check if Sachiko was still alive.

Maybe he was just paranoid, but it didn't sit well with him that Sachiko was just a civilian. She could die at any moment from someone who held a grudge against Sakura and found her matrilineal line or found out about her Uchiha blood and decided to use her for their own gains. What then? What if she ended up dead with both him and Naruto there but being unable to do anything?

_What if he let down another Haruno?_

Sasuke's teeth clicked in his mouth as his jaws pressed together. So he hadn't forgiven himself since then, so what? Over a decade later and he still woke up in the middle of the night to see blood dripping down the bedroom walls.

Innocents' blood. Itachi's blood. Sakura's blood.

He probably could never look in the mirror and not see a monster.

He glanced down at the row of windows that side of the building one last time, then shunshinned away to check the Hokage's office once more. He doubted Sachiko knew how much he checked up on her.

And it was probably better that way.

::

That night, Sachiko went to her apartment, shuffled through the hall, and took a seat on the top of her dark green bedspread. And, just like every weekend, she opened the bottom drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a brown wooden box she polished almost religiously. She pulled the key up and over her head then twisted it in the keyhole to pop open the keepsake.

On top of all the photos was an unsealed envelope, and the letter inside held what she lived by day to day—carving the words in her heart to forgive but to never forget.

She filtered through the pages until she got to the last one.

\--

_I didn't know everything would take so long to write, but..._

_ I hope this was enough. Not for everything, but for you to understand and to apologize for what I've done to you.  _ _ Everything I've written was my truth and everything I've asked of was my will. These papers are my story and this page is its end. _

_ I know I'll die young, a _ _ nd it won't be with the honor of a shinobi because I never could change the world the way everyone else could. _

_ I know you deserved a mother. _

_I know you deserved better than this._

_ I'm sorry I was so selfish. _

_ I don't want to see this war-torn world or the way my failures stacked up so I could no longer look at what was on the other side. I couldn't overcome what pulled me down, but to you I wish that your life will shine like the sun—brilliant and bright. _

_ You're my Sachiko. My happy child. _

_When you stumble and fall, you'll pick yourself back up and keep going._

_I will never get a second chance, but you'll grow up in a time where you'll have all the chances in the world._ _ Take them, because the only way for you to grow is to move forward. _

_ I already miss you, Sachiko, and I can't wait to see you again. _

_ Your Mother, With All the Love She Had Left, _

_Haruno Sakura_

\--

Sachiko smiled a watery smile and hugged the paper close to her chest before she gazed out her window into the dark and stars and whispered, "Wherever you are, kaa-san, I hope you can smile again."

Her mother said she would never get a chance, but maybe she did. And if she did...

She could only hope her mother took her own advice and  _lived_.

**:: END ::**

This story's finally over, and I can say that it'll take a while for me to really come to terms with that. I've been writing this story for so long now and while a part of me doesn't want to stop writing this, another part says that it has to come to an end at some point. I didn't know when this would finally come to a stop, but this is it.

There will be no sequel.

I know a lot of you have been asking for one but if I make a sequel, the whole wrap-up to this story is going to lose it's meaning. It's meant to be resolved but with a future still in store, so I'm sorry to those that will be disappointed by this information.

But, I couldn't have made it this far without all your guys' love and support. Thank you all so much for your dedication for this story. It kept me going. <3

::

Also, if you all would like to see all the covers and fanart submitted to this story, please visit the Wattpad version, called Stumble [Rewrite] ([link](https://www.wattpad.com/story/45548168-stumble-rewrite)) under the same username (writer168) and look at the end of these following chapters:

  * _Omake II: The Happy Child_ (Chapter 26)
  * _Challenge_ (Chapter 29)
  * _Appearance_ (Chapter 30)
  * _Concern_ (Chapter 34)
  * _Impression_ (Chapter 35)
  * _Omake III: The Flower That Wasn't Pink_ (Chapter 36)
  * _Worry_ (Chapter 37)
  * _Heavy_ (Chapter 40)
  * _Mirror_ (Chapter 43)
  * _Wish_ (Chapter 44)
  * _Omake IV: Hero_ (Chapter 45)
  * _Those Who Knew No Better_ (Chapter 46)
  * _Information_ (Chapter 47)
  * _Knowing_ (Chapter 48)
  * _Hardship_ (Chapter 49)
  * _Mist_ (Chapter 50)
  * _You_ (Chapter 51)
  * _Omake V: Hero_ (Chapter 52)
  * _Crash_ (Chapter 53)
  * _Interlude_ (Chapter 54)
  * _The Number of Death_ (Chapter 55)
  * _Eleven (1)_ (Chapter 56)
  * _Eleven (2)_ (Chapter 57)
  * _Eleven (3)_ (Chapter 58)
  * _Omake VI: Truth_ (Chapter 59)
  * _Eleven (4)_ (Chapter 60)
  * _Eleven (5)_ (Chapter 61)
  * _Eleven (6)_ (Chapter 62)
  * _Serpentine (1)_ (Chapter 64)
  * _Serpentine (2)_ (Chapter 65)
  * _Rewound_ (Chapter 66)
  * _Cornered_ (Chapter 67)
  * _Witness_ (Chapter 68)
  * _Worth_ (Chapter 69)
  * _Omake VII: Ghost_ (Chapter 70)
  * _Time_ (Chapter 71)
  * _Stumble [Epilogue]_ (Chapter 72)




End file.
